Meant to Be
by CheeryFan
Summary: AU. Brooke and Peyton have been best friends for ever. When Brooke moved away they vowed to keep their friendship strong. Now in their senior year in high school Brooke returns changing both their lives for ever. Eventually BL, and NH & PJ.
1. My Bestest Friend

_**Short Summary:**_ _AU. Brooke and Peyton have been best friends for ever. When Brooke moved away they vowed to keep their friendship strong. Now in their senior year in high school Brooke returns changing both their lives for ever. Eventually BL, and NH & PJ._

_**Disclaimer: **_I own nothing…I wish I did…but then we would be watching a very different show.

_**AN: **_ This is the first OTH story I've written so I'm nervous! I would love to hear your thoughts, good and bad!

_Chapter 1_

_My Bestest Friend_

Peyton Sawyer was anxiously waiting at the airport for the flight from LA to arrive. It was already half an hour delayed and the announcement board declared another 15 minutes before landing. She had arrived almost an hour earlier and now she was stuck in the airport pacing up and down trying to control her excitement. If one of her friends saw her they wouldn't believe it was her. It was so not like her to be this… giddy…yes Peyton Sawyer the brooding artist was giddy. But that was not a surprise for her. The person she was waiting for always had that effect on her. It was a shame she did not see her more often but that was about to change, Brooke Davis, her best friend ever was moving back to Tree Hill, and nothing could make Peyton happier.

Peyton and Brooke had been best friends since preschool. They were inseparable back then when Brooke still lived in Tree Hill. Brooke practically lived in Peyton's home and her parents treated her like their own child. When Peyton's mother died Brooke was the one that helped Peyton through all her pain. She was sure that she wouldn't have been able to handle that without her best friend there. Nobody really understood their friendship since the two of them were complete opposites. Brooke was just so…uh frustratingly happy! She got excited by the simplest of things. She was outspoken, never fearing to speak her mind and had an ability to talk non-stop…rumble on and on for anything making everybody around her groan. She was a flirt, she was confident and she always got what she wanted. Everybody knew her and either admired or hated her…but she always landed on top, making anybody that crossed her regret dearly. Peyton had to admit, Brooke Davis could be a real bitch when she wanted to. However, she could also be the most compassionate and loyal friend anyone can ever dream of, and that was why Peyton loved her that much. The two of them had made plans for when they would go to high school; they would rule the place together! Actually, Brooke made the plans and Peyton just nodded along.

However, all the well laid plans were destroyed when Brooke's father decided to transfer to California. His business was not doing well, and he decided that a move would be the best for their interests. The news had left the two girls devastated. Brooke's parents well always away on business. She considered Peyton's family as her own. But of course leaving her behind was not an option. So after a lot of tears and screaming, Brooke had to give up. It was a heart-wrenching goodbye, the two girls however vowed that they would still best friends for ever. It was difficult for both of them but their bond was too strong for the miles between them to break. The outrageous phone bills and the internet chats all through the night were the evidence that their friendship was as strong as ever. They talked almost every night and they knew everything about each other lives. They also visited each other at summers, and spend their vacations together. They planned to go to college together when they finished high school and never be apart again. It was one more reason for both of them to want to finish school as soon as possible.

However, their reunion was brought sooner than both of them expected due to something really unexpected for both of them. In the summer just before their senior year, Brooke's parents decided to get a divorce. Peyton was at the time on a road trip with her boyfriend and some friends from school. The news made her want to cut her trip short and immediately fly to California to be there for her friend, but Brooke insisted that she was perfectly fine. The first weeks had been difficult, though Brooke was never close to her parents they were still their parents and she loved them. She knew they didn't get along with each other. Whenever they came home even for that short amount of time they stayed they always fought. But their social status prevented them from ending their marriage, and Brooke believed that this would be always the case. That changed when her mother apparently fell in love with another man. She never told Peyton anything about that man. She referred to him as "Him" and never gave any information about him but always talked with extreme disgust about him and her mother. When her father learned about their affair he decided to end the marriage since the scandal could no longer be avoided. Her mother decided to go and live with her new love, totally abandoning her only daughter without a second thought and Brooke was stuck with her father. Of course, since this scandal made big news in LA because the Davis's and apparently the notorious "him" were well known and established in the city's social circles, her father decided that it would be best to just move back to Tree Hill. Not that it mattered to him anyway, he would still be away on business all the time leaving Brooke behind.

Peyton was very concerned about how Brooke was handling the divorce. Since she refused to let Peyton fly there, she also cancelled her plans on visiting Tree Hill like they had planned. There were things to take care of as she cryptically told Peyton, and after all she would be back for good in no time. So they spent the whole summer apart. The first week after she broke the news to Peyton, she used to cut their phone calls short and was somewhat less cheerful than usual. But still, she bounced back to her old self in surprisingly short time. Peyton still doubted that Brooke had completely recovered, but one thing she knew was that if Brooke didn't want to open up, no one could make her. She just hoped that with time, and since now she was coming back home, she would open up to her. Peyton had to admit that though Brooke's moving back home was the result of an unfortunate event, she was still absolutely thrilled to have her best friend back. Of course Brooke was not quite that excited to leave her school in California, the one she swore she ruled, to move to a new school in her senior year. However, in true Brooke Davis fashion she deemed that this little detail was not going to ruin her senior year. She was going to own this school in no time! Truth be told, Peyton had no doubt that she would actually do, after all she was Brooke Davis. Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. The screen flashed "Lucas" and Peyton immediately answered the phone with a wide grin.

"Hey, Luke"

"Hey, babe, where are you?"

"Still at the airport, her flight was delayed"

"Oh, that sucks"

"Tell me about it…I'm going crazy here!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have gone to the airport an hour earlier than the arrival time…" Lucas chuckled.

"Luke! You know I would be going as crazy if I stayed home waiting for the time to pass"

"Don't I know it, you were driving me and Nathan crazy as well…so good thing you went"

"Uh… I'm just too hype to argue with you right now"

Lucas just laughed again.

"Ok, so what time is the flight supposed to arrive now?"

"In about ten minutes… unless there is another delay…"

"Ok, well, what are you gonna do after she arrives?"

"I already told you, we will go at her house and probably spend the day unpacking and talking, we have so much to talk about"

"Babe, you two talk every day!"

"It's not the same!"

"Ok, ok… so I guess I won't see you today?"

"No, I don't think so… although with Brooke you never know, she's been driving me crazy with her questions about you and she might drag me out just so she can meet you"

"Well, good, cause I'm actually curious about finally meeting the infamous Brooke Davis"

"You'll love her! "

"I'm sure I will babe. Anyway, me and Nate are gonna hang at the café with Hales and Jake. If your friend feels like it you can stop by. Otherwise, I'll call you tonight."

"Ok, great! I'll probably crash at Brooke's anyway"

"Sure, no problem. So, have a great day baby, love you"

"Love you too"

Peyton shut her cell and smiled. Just like Lucas always taking care of her. He was such a considerate boyfriend and she was so lucky! They started dating sometime after the winter break, and they were so good together. She couldn't wait for Brooke to meet him. When she told her about him Brooke was almost ready to hop on the first plane and come to Tree Hill to meet the boy that made her friend decide to date and leave her depressing sketches for five minutes. That was just Brooke… always super-excited. But Peyton had to admit she was excited as well. Sure she had dated other boys but no one had ever made her feel like Lucas had. And Brooke being the perceptive friend she was, figured that one out in no time and was very happy for her friend.

Lucas had moved to Tree Hill after junior high along with his brother and their parents. Actually, half-brother, father and step-mom, but that was a long story Peyton was going to have to explain to Brooke when she arrived. So far she really didn't like to talk too much about her relationship, always being the quiet one. This of course made Brooke question her all the time but the only information she got was how nice and caring Lucas was. As Brooke had concluded that that piece of information was completely boring, she was determined to get the juicy parts as soon as she got to Tree Hill. And Lucas's family history surely had some juicy parts. Since Brooke had left just before the Scotts had moved to Tree Hill she had no idea about the complicated history that was by now well-known among the people of the small town.

Peyton herself didn't really meet the Scott brothers until last year, when the two of them became the star basketball players in Tree Hill Ravens. Of course she had seen them and even shared a few classes with them but they were never part of the popular crowds. That changed when Coach Durham decided to give them a chance at the varsity basketball team. Apparently both brothers had inherited their father's talent in the game, who used to be one of the best players in Tree Hill Ravens back in the days. The younger of the two Nathan Scott jumped at the opportunity and in no time he became the king of Tree Hill High. Of course dating Rachel Gatina, the captain of the cheerleaders also helped in his rapid escalation in the popularity contest. For Lucas it took some more time, but as his brother became more popular by the day and him being the great basketball player he was, he became part of the "it" crowd as well. Now they would begin the year as co-captains of the team. As soon as she met Lucas, at an after-game party where he stood aside the partying people, Peyton discovered that they had a lot in common. They liked the same music, they were both not quite so talkative and kind of closed of… and soon they became friends and even sooner after that they became a couple. Now, almost six months after they were still together and happy.

After getting involved with Lucas she started hanging out with him, his brother and his best friend, a quiet girl named Haley. Haley was cute and smart. Surely not part of the popular crowd, but Lucas didn't give up their friendship after he became popular. Along with them there was also Jake Jaglieski, another basketball player, one of the few that actually welcomed the two brothers when they joined the team. Peyton had known Jake since elementary school but they never really hang out together. Though popular, he was never one to partying and drinking keeping his distance from these things. After a while, Jake and Haley also started dating, after they discovered that they both shared the same love for music. Nathan had long ago broken up with Rachel, and the five of them became close friends always hanging out together.

Nathan and Rachel's relationship if anyone would call it that was actually Nathan's way to become popular by landing the hottest girl in school, and Rachel's way of re-enforcing her position by landing the new basketball star. They still hang out from time to time but mostly at parties and gatherings were they forced to be as the most popular people in school. Peyton was relieved Rachel had chosen that Scott brother to ensure her rule… that thankfully left Lucas to her. Of course, Lucas would never fall for a girl like Rachel, one that screamed sluttish brainless cheerleader…Lucas loathed her. And that was what worried Peyton the most.

She had to admit she really wanted for Brooke and Lucas to get along. Sometimes she feared that the chances weren't that good on that. Lucas was just like her, and Brooke was the complete opposite. Though she and her were so close friends, nothing guaranteed that the two of them would get along. Brooke… well Brooke just gave out the wrong impression. Lucas really hated her type… aka Rachel. And Brooke, well, Brooke really preferred the outgoing fun guys to hang out with. It was different with Peyton, when they were little Peyton was always the one to hold Brooke down from her crazy ways. However, she had to admit that being with Brooke made her a little crazy herself. Anyway, they just clicked together. And as they've grown up though Brooke became even crazier and Peyton even quieter or constantly depressed as Brooke always said, none of them ever thought of ending their friendship. As Brooke herself said she only hung out with Peyton because her mother used to bribe her with the most delicious cookies and after a while she was kind of addicted. Peyton smiled to herself thinking of her best friend and her boyfriend. The both of them had assured her they would love each other instantly since she loved them both also, but still she had her doubts. The fact that she didn't go into detail when describing the one to the other did little to assure her fears.

The announcement of the arrival of the long awaited LA flight made Peyton jump from her chair. The passengers had still had to go through baggage claim but Peyton was so excited she actually ran to the exit to wait for Brooke. After a good fifteen minutes of Peyton stretching to make out Brooke through the dozens of people that came through the exit she spotted the small brunette dragging her carry-on behind her almost at the same time she was spotted by her.

"P. Sawyer" Brooke's shriek rang through the crowded airport.

"B. Davis" Came Peyton's scream equally excited.

The two girls ran to each other and hugged tightly.

"Pey, I've missed you so so much!" Brooke squealed almost in tears.

"Me too girlie, you have no idea" Peyton replied trying to control her own tears.

They stayed in their embrace for a little longer and then Brooke pulled apart and gave her friend an examining look.

"Well, look at you… I would swear you are even taller than last summer! No more walking next to you… I seem so short!" Brooke whined.

"Shut up, Brooke! And look at you, all tanned and gorgeous, the boys of Tree Hill have no idea what they have coming"

"Of course they don't" Brooke winked at Peyton. "And that's how I like it! Oh, we are going to have so much fun, this year! It is going to be the best year ever! Me and my bestest friend ever!" Brooke squealed and clapped her hands jumping up and down.

Peyton just laughed at her friend's antics.

Yeap, Peyton was happy, she had a great boyfriend and good friends, she was just starting her senior year at high school and to top it all, her bestest friend ever had just moved back home with her. Nothing could possibly spoil her year.


	2. Laying Out the Plans

_**AN:**_ A big, huge thanks to everyone that reviewed! Seriously guys, since this is my first story your comments mean the world to me! Can't tell you how much I appreciate it…so I just tried to put up the second chapter as soon as I could. It's a bit longer, I hope you enjoy:D

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_**Chapter 2**_

_**Laying Out the Plans**_

"God, I thought we would never get here, that flight seemed so long!" Brooke whined while the two girls got into Peyton's car.

"Yeah… the waiting was not easier for me as well. Nathan practically kicked me out of their house because I was driving him crazy"

"Oh… you couldn't wait to see your best friend! How sweet!"

"Yeah, yeah, you know me... the sweetest person ever"

"Hardly, P. Sawyer, it's just that you have a soft spot for me. And how can I blame you? I am adorable" Brooke giggled.

"You're so full of yourself, Davis"

"Anyway… Nathan? I thought your boyfriend's name was Luke or something? Don't tell me you have two?!" Brooke screamed. "Pey, even I wouldn't do that! I think I wouldn't at least! I know I haven't yet…"

"My one and only boyfriend is Lucas, Brooke!" Peyton sighed exasperated. "Nathan is his brother. I told you about him"

"Oh, yes, the other Scott, ups- I forgot! How is that Nathan anyway?"

"He is a really nice guy, I'm sure you'll like him"

"Peyton, Peyton… when I ask how a guy is, I actually mean how hot he is?" Brooke replied with a serious tone that caused Peyton to erupt into laughter.

"You'll never change, Brooke. Didn't you leave any boyfriends back there in LA crying over your departure?"

Brooke frowned slightly.

"I left a lot of boys crying Pey… but boyfriend…nope… I'm so not the girlfriend type"

"Ha… we'll have to see about that, and for your information Nathan is totally hot!"

"Now you're talking, girlie! Now I know I will like him!" Brooke giggled causing Peyton to laugh once again.

The rest of the drive went on with Brooke gashing about how much Tree Hill had changed. She hasn't visited for over a year and everything seemed to have changed. All new kind of stores were open and Brooke kept asking Peyton about all the places she had to visit now that she was back home, namely new clothes and shoes stores and the in-clubs and bars. They arrived at Brooke's old house shortly after.

"Wow…I've really missed this place"

"Brooke, you've missed your house even when you lived here, you were never around!"

"Not true… I...visited?" Brooke chuckled.

"Whatever, anyway, your father is not coming?"

"You're kidding, Blondie? My dad sent the furniture, the clothes, hired the cook and the maid, and as far as he is concerned he has made sure I would be fine…"

"I'm so sorry, Brooke"

"Why? It's not like this is something new. Come on, Pey. I'm used to it. It wasn't any different in California anyway. At least here I have you"

"True!" Peyton exclaimed and enveloped Brooke into another tight hug. "I'm so happy you're back, nothing has been the same without you!"

"Me too, Pey, I'm really happy to be back too"

They made their way into the house and were greeted by the maid who was expecting them to make sure Brooke got settled. Brooke told her she would unpack on her own and let her leave, since most of her clothes were already arranged in the closet; her father had sent them the day before and she only had her carry-on with her.

"Come on, Pey" Brooke called Peyton as she made herself comfortable on the living room couch.

"I thought you were going to unpack?"

"What now? No way! We have so much to talk about, Goldilocks! And we have some plans to make about Monday…" Brooke trailed off taking on a thoughtful expression.

"Oh boy…why every time you speak of plans I now we are going to end up in deep trouble?"

"Shush! Monday is the first day of school and today is already Thursday; we have no time at all and tons of things to do!"

"Like what Brooke?"

"Well, first of all, we've got to go shopping! I so need a killer outfit for my first day at Tree Hill High"

"Oh God…now that is something I didn't miss about you!"

Brooke just pouted.

"Ok…ok, we'll go shopping! Jeez I better tell Lucas I won't see him tomorrow either"

Brooke jumped from the couch.

"How could I forget? Of course! Meeting Lucas Scott! That is definitely in the top of my to-do list before Monday. And for your info and his… I totally own you for the entire weekend Sawyer, and now that I am here, he has to learn to share you! And maybe I can even share his brother, I mean if he's as hot as you say…and if he isn't involved, is he really? Does he have a girlfriend? "

"Whoa..whoa.. slow down! You will meet Lucas he wants to meet you as well. "

"Hm…I hope you told him only nice things about me"

"Of course" Peyton immediately assured. "Oh, and Nathan has no girlfriend and is as hot as I say, just wait and see"

"Yay!"

* * *

Lucas Scott walked into his step-mother's café and immediately spotted his brother and their friends sitting at a corner table.

"Hey guys" He greeted them with a smile.

"Hey bro" Nathan answered and scooted over so he could sit beside him.

"Hey man" Jake said from across the table with his arm placed around his girlfriend.

"Luke, about time you got here! We are hungry!" Haley James exclaimed.

"Nice to see you too, Hales"

"Yeah, yeah, what kept you? And where is Peyton?"

"I stopped by Keith's; he needed some help with a car stereo he was fixing. And Peyton I would guess is with her friend"

"Oh, that's right! Her friend is coming today, how could I forget?" Haley made a duh face.

"Well, I couldn't forget even if I tried! She's been talking about her all the time this past week" Lucas sighed.

"That bad, huh?" Jake chuckled.

"Please! She's been driving me crazy and I only spent half the time Luke is spending with her!" Nathan supplied.

Both Haley and Jake laughed.

"Well, maybe we'll meet her even today, from what Peyton told me she's anxious to meet us as well"

"Actually, I already kind of know her" Jake said.

"You do?" Lucas asked intrigued.

"Yeah... well at least I remember her from junior high, but we never hang out. She and Peyton… well, I was not part of their crowd"

"Is she as perfect as Peyton says she is?" Nathan asked mockingly.

"I wouldn't know, as I said I don't think we ever really talked. But she sure was really pretty."

"Jake!" Haley said swatting his arm.

"You're prettier?" Jake said with an innocent smile.

"Huh!" Haley huffed.

"Well, Peyton told us she is really friendly and nice, and really kind and .." Lucas started saying but was interrupted by Nathan.

"and bluh bluh… absolutely perfect"

"Peyton really cares for her, huh?" Haley asked smiling.

"Yeah, she was there for her in her most difficult times. They were practically raised together"

"Why is she moving back here?" Jake asked.

"Her parents got divorced"

"Tough" Nathan said with a solemn expression.

"Yeah, Peyton didn't really give me any other details. Anyway, since she is friends with Pey I'm sure she is really nice"

"Yeah, if she's anything like her, she will fit with us perfectly" Haley said happily.

"Uh-huh" Jake mumbled lowering his head.

* * *

"So, you've got to fill me in on all the new gossip, in Tree Hill ASAP!" Brooke said between stuffing her mouth with spoonfuls of ice-cream. She and Peyton had relocated to the kitchen and were now sitting across the kitchen isle devouring some ice-cream from a huge bowl.

"Well, I really don't know that much, I mean everything is the same as usual. And since I've been away most of the summer…"

"Uh… what happened to you, Pey? Lucas keeping you so busy you don't have time for some good gossiping? We will have to change that! Maybe I should call Bevin, she will be more helpful!"

"Jee, Thanks! And yeah I guess she would be"

"How is Bevin, and Theresa, anyway?"

"Oh, the same they haven't changed a bit. Bevin always asks about you, you know"

"Still in the cheerleading squad?"

"Sure…"

"Who else is there? You know my first job is to get in that squad…I'm sure that's gonna be easy, what do you think? And then of course I will take the captaincy. Who is your captain anyway? Is she any good? You think I'll have trouble kicking her butt?"

"Brooke, you think you can ask one question at the time?"

Brooke just stuck her tongue out as a reply.

"Anyway, it's me, Bev and Theresa and then Kelly, Jessica, Kathy, Lisa, Heather, Anna and…"

"Anna?"

"Oh, yeah she moved here last year with her brother Felix, you don't know her. She's... hm… interesting"

"Okay, that's nine and who is the tenth and the captain?"

"Rachel" Peyton mumbled.

Brooke almost spit her ice-cream out of her mouth.

"Rachel? As Rachel Gatina?! The queen bitch? No way!"

"Yeap, that would be her"

"Damn it! How could she? Oh… I knew Tree Hill couldn't survive without me, I mean making that skunk head cheerleader, please!"

"Come on Brooke, you have to admit she's a good cheerleader"

"Oh no, you didn't just say that! I'm so taking the squad from that whore's hands"

Peyton just sighed. Brooke and Rachel had been arch enemies… since… well since ever! They were in a constant fight about who was the most beautiful, who had the most boys interested in her, who was the most popular, had the most friends, wore better clothes and so on and so on. And they were still in junior high. Everybody was very interested in seeing who was going to be the winner when the stakes moved higher when they reached senior high, but with Brooke moving away Rachel became the queen bee of the school without any competition whatsoever. Truth was that if Brooke had stayed, Rachel didn't really stand a chance and she knew it. Now things were different of course and Peyton had really no idea how Brooke was going to accomplish her goals, and she was even somewhat scared of the confrontation that was about to happen. Things in Tree Hill High were about to get very interesting. She found herself often wondering about Rachel Gatina. If you didn't know the two girls well, you would say that Brooke and Rachel were just too much alike and maybe that was the reason for their never ending rivalry. Since Peyton really didn't know Rachel she couldn't help but think that maybe she wasn't the bitch everyone thought she was. Maybe she was just as misunderstood as Brooke was. I mean anyone who didn't know Brooke would think she was just like Rachel… queen bitch as well.

"Uh…Rachel would definitely not take me in her team! God, why does life have to be so hard?" Brooke sighed dramatically.

Peyton chuckled and patted Brooke's hand.

"Well, cheerleading tryouts are on Tuesday, and Bevin and I are on the committee…but of course Rachel will have the last call"

"Hm… maybe it's not that bad, I mean Bev certainly would like me there, and you of course…so it's two against one."

"True… but still Rachel is the captain"

"Don't remind me!" Brooke huffed angrily.

"Maybe I can talk to Whitey" Peyton said scratching her head.

"Whitey?" Brooke asked with confusion written all over her face.

"Yeah, Coach Durham, we call him Whitey. We are really close. Maybe he could also put some pressure in her. And if most of the squad wants you…"

"Thank you, P. Sawyer! You're the best! Of course the girls want me!" Brooke screeched. "I mean, they didn't forget about me, did they?" She asked worriedly.

"You've been away for 3 years Brooke, but nah… I think you had made an impression that lasted"

Brooke smiled satisfied and started counting with her fingers.

"Well, we have you Bev and Theresa for sure. Kelly used to like me… I guess I can subtly remind her of that on Monday, Kathy will do whatever Kelly does so she's in. Heather hates my guts after the whole Roger incident… are they still together? "

Peyton laughed. Yeah she remembered all too well the whole Roger incident not one of Brooke's brightest moments.

"No they aren't. Roger kind of disappeared when a couple of years ago. Heather moved up to some basketball players, plenty of them if I may say so!"

Brooke just laughed.

"Yeah, so Heather is out and Jessica I guess, she still thinks it was my fault Josh dumped her?"

Peyton laughed again remembering another one of Brooke's interesting moments in junior high.

"I wouldn't know, we don't really talk that much" she replied.

"Yeah, I guess I can't count on her. Now, Lisa…I don't know, what do you think?"

"Lisa could sway your way she is currently pissed at Rachel since she told her she gained at least 6 pounds in summer"

"Great! What about that Anna girl?"

"Uh… no she's pretty much against me at the moment"

"You? How come?"

"She had kind of a crush on Lucas and…"

"Oh boy! P. Sawyer well done! You snatched him away from her"

"No, no, no! They never dated or anything! I mean ok, Lucas thought she was nice but nothing happened!"

"How come you didn't tell me? You know I live for that kind of drama!"

"It wasn't much of a drama, Brooke. She liked him, he didn't, not that way anyway. Then he met me…"

'and fell completely in love with you! Awww!" Brooke clapped her hands.

Peyton groaned.

"Brooke, we're dating, we're good but that doesn't mean he's in love with me."

"Of course he is. How can any boy resist you P. Sawyer? You're hot!"

"Uh – Just don't say anything like that in front of him, okay Brooke?"

"Of course not! What do you think I'm stupid? And don't you dare answer that!"

Brooke quickly added as she noticed her friend's expression.

"Anyway, that makes 6 out of ten, I guess that's good. And if you could work your magic on the coach…I'm so definitely in!" She concluded excitedly.

"I think it could actually work" Peyton agreed.

"Of course it will! And now that we have this settled, let's move along!"

"Aren't you tired from your flight or something?"

"Nah-uh! As I said I need to be filled in on the goings on before I enter that school. So, who do you hang out with regularly? When you're not with otherwise occupied with that hot boyfriend of yours I mean!"

"Har-har, funny! Anyway, I already told you about his brother, Nathan. And there is also Haley and Jake. You may remember Jake, Jake Jaglieski?"

"It doesn't ring any bells. Should I remember him?"

"Well, he is in the basketball team with Luke and Nathan. And we did go to junior high together"

"We did, huh? Sorry, still can't remember."

"Yeah, we didn't hang together. He was kind of… ehm.." Peyton made a weird face "Anyway now he is much hotter!"

"P. Saywer, I finally rubbed off on you!" Brooke giggled.

"Yeah, but he's off limits, he is dating Haley."

"And who is she you said?"

"She's Lucas best friend. They have been best friends for ever just like us"

"Haley didn't live here either?"

"Nah, she did. Lucas did also. At first that is. Lucas moved to Charlotte when he was little. Apparently he and Haley still kept in touch"

"And how come we don't know Haley at all? Didn't she go to junior high here?"

"Nop, she went to Charlotte. She lived with her aunt or something since her parents left for some sort of long trip and her eldest brother was in Charlotte for college."

"So Haley and Lucas moved back here after finishing junior high?"

"Exactly"

"And they are both in their senior year like us?"

"Yeap, we're all seniors"

"What about Nathan, is he older or younger than Lucas?"

"He is 3 months younger"

Brooke almost chocked.

"I always told you all that bleach on your head was going to damage your brain cells. You mean 3 years younger? Blondie, he is still a baby! Why were you talking about him like he was screw material? "

Peyton just laughed and slapped Brooke's arm.

"I meant 3 months younger, Brooke."

"What are they twins?!" Brooke asked surprised.

"No, they are actually half-brothers. They have the same father, but different mothers"

Brooke's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"You mean to tell me, their father left two women pregnant within 3 months from each other?"

"Yeah….Dan Scott is a real piece of work"

"Wow! And he's wife? Is she Lucas's mom or Nathan's? Or maybe even neither?"

Peyton chuckled.

"She's Nathan's mom. Dan met her at college. He already had left his pregnant high-school sweetheart behind, Lucas's mom."

"Wow, again! What about Lucas's mom? How come he is not living with her?"

"Uh…big ugly and confusing story. In short, Lucas was living with his mother and his uncle Keith here in Tree Hill until he was 8 or 9, I think. Then one day, without anyone knowing why, his mother disappears, leaving a note that tells she wishes for Dan to raise Lucas. Dan was living in Charlotte at the time; he had a big car dealership going. So, Lucas gets shipped to Charlotte and since then he lives with Dan, his wife Deb and Nathan. Just after junior high, a year after you moved away, Dan decides to move back here too, leaving some employees to ran the business there and opening another one here in Tree Hill. Now they are all living here and we haven't heard anything about Lucas's mom since she left, end of story."

"And I thought my family was screwed up!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Yeah… the Scotts have a very...erm…interesting family"

"No kidding. Boy that must have sucked for Lucas, having his mom leave him like that"

"Yeah… it was hard"

"At least his father was there for him"

"Well… Lucas and his dad never really got along"

"Yeah, I imagine. I mean he did leave him and his mother for another woman and his brother! Whoa…poor guy!"

"He had it difficult. But Lucas is a very strong person. And thankfully, Deb, Nathan's mom an Nathan always treated him very well. They helped him through everything. Oh, and Haley of course, she's as much a part of his family as Nate"

"Uh-huh. So how is that Haley girl anyway? How come she's not a cheerleader? Maybe we can have her join with me this year?"

Peyton just burst out laughing in the idea. Haley was definitely not cheerleader material.

"Uh, what's so funny, Goldilocks?" Asked a confused looking Brooke.

"Well, Haley… oh boy if you've only met Haley you would see!" She said still laughing.

"Is she fat or something?" Brooke asked kind of surprised.

"No, no, she's really pretty. She's just… uh Brooke, Haley is not interested in that sort of things." Peyton carefully phrased so as not to reveal exactly how little both Haley and Lucas thought of most of the cheerleaders. She was an exception, and both Lucas and Haley had often asked her why on earth she decided to join the team, and Peyton could provide only one answer. Brooke. Ever since they were five and her mother talked about her cheerleading days both girls decided they would join the squad together. Well, as usual Brooke was the one making the decisions and Peyton tagged along. Of course the together part was ruined when Brooke moved, but Peyton still felt like she had to do it.

"Not interested, huh?" Brooke said raising her eyebrow skeptically. "What are you not telling me, Blondie?"

"Brooke, I have no idea what you are talking about"

"Peyt, spill!"

"Ok… you may consider Haley a bit nerdish…"

"She's a geek?!" Brooke exclaimed jumping up from her stool.

"No, no… she's just really smart and a tutor and…"

"Oh my God, she's a geek!"

"Brooke, please! She's Lucas's best friend! You have to be nice!"

"Sure, sure, does than mean I actually have to hang out with her?"

"Brooke!"

"Fine… oh you so owe me for this one, Blondie. I mean how am I supposed to kick Rachel of her high horse if I am hanging out with geeks?"

"First of all, she is not a geek! She's really nice. You'll get along fine if you just give her a chance. Seco…"

"Yay!" Brooke faked excitement.

"Secondly" Peyton continued sternly "Nathan hangs out with her and he is the king of the school"

"He is?" Brooke asked genuinely intrigued now completely forgetting that they were talking about Haley.

"Yeah, he certainly is"

"P. Sawyer, I think you are withholding important information here. If the other Scott is everything you say he is he certainly is worth mentioning and you have mentioned him hardly enough!"

"What is there to say? Nathan is… well actually I think he is the male version of you!"

"Is that so?" Brooke was beginning to think she could really work with that boy.

"Yeap, after joining the team and after breaking up with Rachel, Nathan…"

"Breaking up with who?!"

"Oh yeah, he and Rachel had a thing, nothing much but…"

"Oh!!! This boy seems more interesting by the minute! How could you not tell me he dumped that whore?"

"Well, it's not like they had anything special, they kinda of used each other and then it was just over."

"Oh, I could so definitely use him myself! I mean tell me how pissed is that going to make Rachel? And then I will dump him and not the other way around! Ha!"

"You do realize you are talking about my boyfriend's brother and one of my best friends, right?"

"Ups! Sorry, I just got a bit carried away" Brooke giggled.

"He's a nice guy, Brooke. He may come off as an ass, but he's really nice and I wouldn't appreciate you using him"

"Well, if he's the male version of me as you said, he wouldn't really mind!"

"Brooke…" Peyton sighed desperately.

"Ok, ok I'll back off. Don't worry your little pretty head I wouldn't do that to you. Even if it would royally piss off Rachel!" Brooke condescended disappointingly.

"Thank you! And who knows maybe you will actually like him. Maybe you two could really work out and not just to piss off Rachel"

"Don't you be getting any funny ideas in that head of yours, Blondie. You may have found your prince charming but I'm definitely not looking for one."

"I'm just saying… give him a chance… I mean, Brooke between the two of us, aren't you tired of…" Peyton hesitated.

"Screwing a new guy every week? Definitely. Does that mean I want to get screwed over by someone who I may think is special only to find out that he is just like any other guy around? No way! I'll stick to my old ways, thank you very much!"

"All guys are not scum, Brooke"

"Peyt… just… just drop it, ok? "

"Fine! But I'm sure that as soon as you'll meet Nathan you'll change your mind"

"God, I am the one that gets to play the matchmaker not you, Peyt!"

Peyton just laughed.

"I just want to see you happy, Brooke, as happy as I am" She said seriously.

"Well, I am, and I don't need any boy for that. Hm… though if Nathan is that hot, maybe I could give him a chance… who knows?"

"Good!"

"Well, the way you talk, I would think you had a crush on him as well! Is Lucas not that hot?"

"Oh no, believe me! Lucas is definitely hot. But Nathan is much more your type."

"Ok, so we have two super-hot brothers and their hot friend from the basketball team, and instead of being with them, we're here talking about them, why exactly?"

Peyton had to laugh with her friend.

"I just thought you needed to rest after your flight and then you started talking about all the things you had to do before school on Monday so I thought…"

"But Peyt, meeting the hottest boys in our school is definitely a priority in that list of things I told you. They are the hottest ones, right?"

"Definitely!"

"So, get your butt off that stool and call them so we can go meet them"

"Actually, I already thought that you might like that and they're hanging out at Lucas step-mom's café, if you like we can join them?"

"Absolutely! But I need a shower and of course I do need to change! What should I wear? Hm…just give me 20 minutes…"

"Ok"

"Or maybe about 40 minutes?"

"Fine…"

"Oh, who am I kidding, I need at least an hour!"

"Sure, Brooke that's fine." Peyton said rolling her eyes. "I'll just call them to make sure that they'll still be there, maybe we can have dinner there"

"Sounds perfect" came Brooke's reply as she already made her way up the stairs.


	3. Introductions

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Introductions**_

"Ok, so how do I look?" Brooke asked Peyton for the tenth time as she got out of her friend's car.

"For the thousandth time Brooke, you look as gorgeous as ever. Geez, if I didn't know you any better I would say you're actually nervous!"

"Me nervous? Please! I just want to make a good first impression, especially to that Nathan guy you've been telling me about."

"Trust me you will. B. Davis you know no guy could ever resist you? Just keep your paws away from my boyfriend!" Peyton said smiling.

"Hey, friendship rule number one… never play with each other's boy-toys. You know I would never do that, right?" Brooke asked turning suddenly serious.

"Of course, Brooke. I was just kidding, what's wrong?" Peyton asked concerned that her friend took her seriously. It was just not like her.

"Nothing, nothing is wrong. Let's get in! I so want to meet your boy-toy!" Brooke screeched regaining her usual cheeriness.

"Ok, here we go" Peyton mumbled as she opened the door to the café. She gave a quick glance around and spotted Haley and Jake sitting alone at a corner table.

"Come on" she urged Brooke, "There are Haley and Jake."

Both had already looked up when the door bell had announced the new incomers' presence and were now looking at both girls motioning for them to come over.

"Hey, guys" Peyton said smiling while she stood before their table. "This is Brooke my best friend I've been telling you about. Brooke, this is Haley and Jake"

Haley outstretched her hand for Brooke to shake. This Brooke girl looked like she had popped out from a magazine cover! Haley never one to care about clothes and fashion that much could easily discern the designer labels on every piece of clothing she had on her.

"Hi Brooke, we've heard a lot about you" She said smiling.

Brooke smiled back eyeing the petit girl curiously. Ok…so Peyton had that weird tortured artist thing going….but what the hell was wrong with this girl's appearance? Did she forget to change before going out?

"Hey" she replied. "I've heard about you two as well." She then turned to Jake who was also giving her his hand to shake. "Jaglieski right? I wonder how I did not notice you in junior high, big mistake!" She said throwing him an appreciative glance.

"Brooke…" Peyton groaned.

Jake almost blushed and Haley glared at Peyton. Was that girl actually flirting with her boyfriend? Did Peyton not tell her about the two of them? Did she not notice Jake's arm around her? Of course! He had retracted it as soon as she came bouncing in. Oh, Jake would so hear it when they left from here.

"Uhm… I've changed since then" Jake supplied unsurely.

"Nice change, I bet! " Brooke smiled showing off her dimples. "Maybe we just didn't cross paths" she continued.

"Oh, I do remember you" Jake blurted out and immediately regretted it after noticing Haley's death glare and Brooke's satisfied grin.

"Of course, you do. Well, now that I am back we can make a fresh start and correct past mistakes" Brooke continued smiling sweetly.

Peyton groaned inwardly for the up-tenth time. Of course she knew Brooke didn't mean anything by flirting with Jake but Haley certainly didn't look amused. And Jake just seemed taken aback by her attention and was not helping things at all. Peyton thought things were certainly off to a bumpy start and Brooke hadn't even met Lucas yet. If she flirted with him the same way, she would definitely make the wrong impression. Her only hope was…Nathan.

"Where are Nathan and Lucas?" She asked Haley to distract her from her glaring towards Jake and Brooke.

"Nathan just went in the kitchen, he will be back in a minute. But Lucas had to leave. Keith called him for some kind of an emergency. He said to tell you he was very sorry and he'll try to stop by later"

"Oh, pity! I so wanted to meet him" Brooke pouted as she sat at a chair across Haley and Jake.

Peyton also frowned. She was already anxious to see how that meeting would go and all the waiting was getting at her nerves. And if Haley got to Lucas before he saw Brooke on his own she certainly wouldn't be giving the best credentials.

"Hey Pey! You're here" A deep voice came from behind Peyton's shoulder.

"Hey Nate"

"And where's that famous friend of yours? Or is she the imaginary kind? " Said Nathan as he peered over Peyton's shoulder to take a look at the girl she was hiding by standing in front of her.

"Oh, I am here!" Came Brooke's excited reply as she jumped up from her seat.

The two of them looked at each other and Peyton sighed with relief reading the grins of satisfaction that broke simultaneously at their faces.

"Well, well, for once Sawyer you were more than modest in your descriptions. You're friend is really… something" Nathan smirked eyeing Brooke hungrily. The girl was hot, really really hot.

"You're not that bad yourself" Brooke smirked right back at him. At this point she just wanted to jump and kiss Peyton, the Scott brother was definitely more than hot. Tall, well-built, dark hair and piercing blue eyes. Brooke would have gashed if she was that kind of girl, and more importantly if she was sure he was not looking.

"Nate, meet Brooke, Brooke this is Nathan" Peyton said grinning widely.

Haley just looked shocked as Brooke had in seconds moved her flirting from her boyfriend to her friend. She was sure that if Lucas walked through that door she would have no problem to turn her attentions to him instantly.

"Nice to meet you, Natey" Brooke said giving him the widest grin yet as she offered him her hand to shake.

"Likewise" Nathan replied shaking her hand. "Would you girls like something to drink?"

"Yes! I so need a coffee, I think the flight has started to show its effects…I'm tired!" Brooke exclaimed as she slouched back to her seat.

"Coffee it is" Nathan replied and turned to head for the counter.

"Hey! What about me?" Peyton shouted indignantly but Nathan had already left.

Brooke laughed with her friend's bewildered expression.

"Come on Goldilocks, I'm sure his brother is taking care of you, can't have both of them now, can you?"

Peyton was about to reply when Jake's laughter made both girls turn to him.

"Goldilocks?" He breathed out between fits of laughter.

"Oh, yeah… Brooke here has a thing for nicknames. Just wait she will find something appropriately annoying for you, too"

"My nicknames are not annoying!" Brooke protested pouting. "They are original and special" She continued.

"Yeah, special… just like you"

Brooke just pinched her in her arm. "You're mean!" She said.

Peyton laughed while Nathan arrived with Brooke's coffee.

"Here you go" He said setting the cup in front of her and dragging a chair from another table to sit with the four friends. "So Brooke, how do you like being back so far?" He asked.

"Considering I have only seen Peyton and you three, I say things are looking really good in Tree Hill." She said grinning. "I can definitely see that the place has changed for the better" Brooke concluded turning to wink at Jake.

"Well, we are certainly glad to have you here" Nathan smiled.

"Yeah, ecstatic" Haley mumbled.

"Did you say something Harley?" Brooke fake smiled at her. She had noticed the death glares she had been sending her and she couldn't understand what was her problem.

"The name is Haley" Haley said annoyed.

"Oh, we all call her Hales, anyway." Nathan said only to receive a glare from Haley who was by now fuming.

"Well, Brooke anyway likes to give everybody nicknames" Jake said.

"You do? " Nathan said turning to her again and ignoring the furious Haley. "What is Peyton's nick?"

"Well, Goldilocks and Blondie mostly…for obvious reasons I guess" Brooke shrugged.

"Uh-huh… and what do you think you're gonna call me?" asked Nathan staring at her intently.

"Hm… well, I don't know you that well yet. All I know is what I see… which is rather good I guess"

Nathan chuckled.

"And I know you are one of the stars of the basketball team, along with Goldilocks's boy-toy here"

Nathan just continued to look at her amused.

"So?" he prodded.

"Well… so far you have been the other Scott, but maybe that is about to change… you'll just have to wait and see, hot-shot" She winked at him.

"Definite improvement, I like it" Nathan smirked.

"I thought you would" Brooke smiled playfully.

"So tell us about you" Nathan continued, "What did you do at your old school?"

"Well, there isn't much to say really. I was never that good at school, but I managed"

"Yeah, I'm not that fond of that either" Nathan nodded. "Haley is the smart one here"

"Well, good for you, _Hales_" Brooke smiled stressing out her pet-name.

Haley was ready to retort with a bitchy remark but the pleading looks from both Peyton and Jake stopped her.

"Thank you, Brooke. I actually enjoy school. Oh and I am not the only one here, Luke also enjoys reading."

"He does?" Brooke asked completely shocked. Somehow in her mind the thought of the star basketball player reading seemed too weird.

"Oh, yes" Nathan confirmed. "He's a regular bookworm. I keep going in his room to catch him making out with Peyton only to find him reading and her sketching"

Nathan laughed and Jake followed along with him. Brooke however eyed Peyton suspiciously. Peyton in her turn suddenly found the table cloth patterns very appealing.

"Well, Peyton must have forgotten to mention her boy-toy's love for books" It figures thought Brooke, leave it to Peyton the weirdest cheerleader ever to track down the weirdest basketball player in school. Brooke didn't really mind, but the thought of why she didn't tell her about it made her curious. Were there more things Peyton conveniently forgot to mention?

"So apart from not enjoying school, what do you enjoy?" Nathan continued.

"Well, I love shopping and partying and going out, just having fun, you know?"

"My kind of girl" Nathan winked.

Brooke giggled.

"Oh, and I absolutely love cheerleading! I was captain in my old school, and I so plan on joining your team, first thing this year"

"Figures…" Haley said under her breath.

"Oh, I could totally picture you in the uniform" Nathan looked at her suggestively.

"Believe me, your imagination has nothing on me" Brooke smirked.

"You know what? I absolutely believe you"

By now the rest of them felt a bit left out. Haley couldn't believe that girl's nerves, but at least she was now all over Nate, who was by the way buying every word she said Haley noticed disgusted, and she had left Jake alone. Peyton was satisfied. That was exactly what she expected. Nathan and Brooke were perfect for each other… or doomed for a complete disaster, but she could always hope for the best. As for Jake he just listened to the conversation wondering exactly how he was going to get out of the mess he got himself into with his very pissed off girlfriend.

* * *

As soon as Brooke and Peyton got in Peyton's car, Brooke started bouncing on her seat grinning like a maniac. 

"P. Sawyer! I love you! I do! Have I told you exactly how much I love you? You're the best friend I could ever have!"

Peyton just shook her head smiling as she started her car.

"So, I guess you liked Nathan?"

"Liked him? Are you kidding me? That guy is a God! He is a major hotty! He is beyond hot! Oh boy, Peyton I mean I know I haven't met Lucas yet, but if he is anything like his brother, you are one lucky whore!"

"Why thank you!" Peyton replied sarcastically.

"No seriously Pey, I mean if you chose Lucas with Nathan around…wow!"

"First of all, me and Nathan…eeww!" Peyton made a disgusted face.

"Oh come on! You cannot seriously not see how hot he is!"

"Of course I do. I did tell you so, didn't I? But a lot of guys are hot Brooke, but what I see in Lucas is so much more"

"Yeah… it is looooveeeee" Brooke sing-songed.

"Whatever, Brooke! Can you be serious for a minute?"

"Nah…I have you for the serious stuff…I'm in for the fun of it!"

"I have to handed it to you though, you had him eating from your palm in a matter of minutes!" Peyton said shaking her head. "Nathan Scott the big player of Tree Hill High… and you had him looking at you like a shy little boy! I still can't believe he even offered to come shopping with us! Nathan absolutely loathes shopping! Me and Hales usually have to drag him to the mall kicking and screaming"

"Pleaseee, Sawyer. Boys are easy that way. A few grins… a few side glances… and he is all yours to play!"

"You are good, Brooke!"

"I know!"

Peyton laughed as they finally reached Brooke's house. The two girls made their way in and decided to go straight to bed since Brooke had had a long day. They changed into their pjs and laid at Brooke's bed together staring at the dark room's ceiling.

"It's a shame your boy-toy didn't show up" Brooke said just as Peyton was about to close her eyes.

"Well, you'll have to meet him tomorrow I guess"

"Hm… maybe we should have agreed for Nathan to come shopping with us, maybe then Lucas could also come and…"

"Brooke, do you really want to drag two guys around the mall and hear them constantly whining?"

"Nate wouldn't whine! He offered to come himself"

"B. Davis you may already have him wrapped around your little finger, but he is still a guy! He would whine! And the poor guy had no idea what he was getting himself into when he offered! He can't handle me and Hales, there is no way he could handle you, you shopping-freak"

Brooke slapped Peyton's arm.

"I guess they would only slow us down"

"Oh, God, it's not a race Brooke! Maybe you two should have gone together and left me here to sleep!"

"Nah-uh, you're right, Blondie. Shopping is a girl thing. And I so need my best girl with me tomorrow! I will see Nate later, he has to wait"

"So…you will see him later, uh? Exactly what did you two arrange Brooke?"

"Nothing really, how could we? That Haley girl kept interrupting us all the time!"

Peyton frowned now this was a conversation she didn't want to get into but she decided the sooner the better.

"About Haley…"

"Yeah?" Brooke asked yawning; she really didn't feel like talking about her right now.

"Couldn't you be a little nicer to her?" Peyton tried.

"Me? I was very nice to her! She was the one that kept looking at me like I ran her dog over!"

"Maybe she did that because you were oh, not so subtly flirting with her boyfriend?"

"What?!" Brooke screamed sitting up in her bed. "I was definitely not flirting with Jaglieski!"

"Really? _I wonder how_ _I didn't notice you in junior-high, big mistake!" _Peyton said trying to mimic Brooke's playful tone.

"I was just trying to apologize for not remembering him!" Brooke protested.

"Don't give me that crap Brooke, you were flirting with him!"

"Fine! Maybe I was a little! What's the harm?"

"I know you don't mean anything by it Brooke, but Haley doesn't. And you got a bit carried away I have to say. You know better than to flirt with other girls' boyfriends, Brooke! You're not a slut!"

Brooke stayed silent for a minute. "Maybe I am, Pey, maybe I've changed" She said quietly laying back on her bed.

It was Peyton's turn to jump up now.

"What is wrong Brooke? What happened to you this summer?"

"Nothing… I'm sorry Peyton, I didn't mean to bring you in a difficult position with your friend"

"I don't care about that Brooke. It's you I'm worried about. You're acting weird!"

Brooke sat up as well and smiled reassuringly at Peyton.

"Don't worry, really, I'm fine. I guess all these sudden changes got to me more than I thought. I'm really sorry for Jake, but that Haley kept looking at me like she was so much better than me and…I couldn't help myself"

"Brooke, I hate to go all pre-school on you, but you've started it"

"Yeah" Brooke sighed. "I guess I did. But I assure you I would have stopped way sooner if that girl stopped looking at me like that! I mean for a second I thought she was even jealous when I smiled at Nathan!"

"She was just still angry." Peyton shrugged.

"Whoa… she must really hate my guts by now. Good one, Brookie." Brooke sighed. "Oh my God! And she is Lucas's best friend! Your boyfriend is gonna hate me!" She said burying her face in her hands.

"No, he's not! I told him what a great person you are! He is not going to judge you based on the first impression you made on Hales. I know you for years!"

"You think?" Brooke asked hesitantly.

"Of course" Peyton assured smiling although she was not so sure herself. "And I am sure Haley herself will come around as she starts getting to know you better. Just…in the future, stick your flirting to Nate, okay?"

"Deal!" Brooke said happily, feeling a bit better.

Peyton smiled as well, and laid back again.

"So about Nate…"

"I already told you I liked him, Goldilocks"

"Yeah… but did you like him as…_wow that's my hot screw of the week_ like… or did you _like_ like him?"

Brooke seemed to be in thought for a second and took a deep breath before talking.

"Ok, Peyton, seriously. Nathan seems really nice. I mean yes he is very very hot. But he seems also funny, and sweet. I don't know if I like like him…but I could certainly see myself really liking him in the future"

"Whoa…" Peyton said calmly "So Natey-boy really made an impression to you too Davis"

"Yeap…" Brooke nodded.

"I so knew this would happen!" Peyton screamed as she started bouncing on the bed, her calm demeanor all forgotten.

Brooke burst into laughter.

"Blondie…I am the bouncy one…control yourself"

"Oh but Brooke, it's gonna be so great, Jake and Haley, me and Lucas and you and Nate!"

"Hm…it does sound good, doesn't it? And we'll be dating two brothers? How cool is that going to be? We would be something like sisters! P. Sawyer I love it, we would be dating the famous Scott brothers of Tree Hill Ravens! Of course I will be dating the hottest Scott brother…" Brooke trailed off.

"Hey!" Peyton said as she grabbed her pillow and hit Brooke with it.

Brooke immediately retaliated and the two girls started a full grown pillow fight laughing and screaming.

* * *

_**AN:**_ I know most of you must be disappointed or mad at me that the BL meeting didn't take place here…but please bare with me! It had to happen this way…and I promise to update really soon so you won't have to wait too long! Once again thank you for all your great reviews! You are making me so happy! 


	4. Running on Anger

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Running on Anger**_

****

Brooke turned to look at her alarm clock once again. It was 5:15. She sighed and tried to close her eyes to get some more sleep. The next time she opened them it was 5:20. It was no use. She had been awake since 4, and though she tried her best to get some more sleep she just couldn't. She kept tossing and turning, staring at her clock watching the minutes slowly pass by. She turned her head to the side and looked at Peyton. She could barely make out her face with the low light that came from the drapes. The street lights were still on, but the sun would be up shortly. Peyton looked peaceful as she was emerged in a deep sleep. Brooke wished she could sleep as peacefully, but no matter how tired she had been yesterday she barely got 3 hours of sleep.

They stayed up late with Peyton, chatting and laughing and she knew her friend wouldn't wake up for a few more hours. She looked at her alarm clock once again and after letting out a resigned sigh she quietly made her way off the bed careful not to wake Peyton up. She got some track pants and a white tank top from her closet and went to the downstairs bathroom to get ready. She guessed taking a run would help her pass the time it would take for Peyton to wake up. She couldn't stay at the house doing nothing and running always helped her clear her thoughts. After changing in her running clothes she pulled her hair in a bun and put on her snickers. She took a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note for Peyton just in case she woke up before she got back from her running. She pinned the note to her fridge and walked out the house through the kitchen door.

The morning breeze was refreshing and Brooke started jogging through the familiar streets of her home town. As she took in all the familiar places she let her memories overtake her. She was back at Tree Hill. She had missed the place. She had missed walking around the quiet streets, LA was always so busy. She missed walking around and always being greeted by familiar faces, LA was just too big to know anybody. She always told Peyton how wonderful LA was, how you could always expect to bump into a celebrity on your way to the mall or a café. But Brooke preferred bumping into an old friend rather than some famous star. She told her how she enjoyed meeting new people all the time, going at parties where she hardly knew anyone there. But the truth was Brooke always missed her old home town. She had to admit to herself at least, the small town was more to her liking than the hustle and bustle of the big city. So not Brooke Davis, right? Everyone that knew her would certainly say that Brooke was born for the big life. The rich lifestyle in a big bustling city like LA or NY, was perfect for the Brooke Davis everyone knew and admired. As usual she just wondered how many people really knew her, if any.

But Brooke would never admit to Peyton or anyone for that matter that she was not happy with what she had. She just had to make the best of a bad situation and that was what she did for the past 3 years. The beginning had been difficult, but as soon as she became popular in her school, which didn't take her than long she thought with satisfaction, things started to look up. She had made many friends there, but they weren't really that close to her. In reality, she doubted she could even call them her friends, they were just people she hang out with and had fun. Nobody knew her well. Nobody really got passed her façade. Of course that was partly or all her fault but she never took a second to doubt her behavior. Brooke had learned the hard way that letting people in only lead to more heartache. She wouldn't allow anyone to see her weaknesses. As far as the world was concerned Brooke Davis had no weaknesses. She was a cold-hearted bitch and no one ever dared getting in the way of what she wanted. How does that saying goes? It's better to be feared than to be pitied? Well, everybody feared Brooke, and no one ever imagined they had a reason to feel sorry for her, and she was very proud of that.

It was somewhat different with Peyton and her other friends in Tree Hill. They had known her all her life. Ha… she had to admit for a 17 year old she truly thought funny! Not that many of her friends in Tree Hill got passed her walls either, but still, she couldn't imagine how anyone she met in LA could ever know her as well as they did. And she also didn't see any point in letting them know her. What good would that do? Leaving them would only hurt more. Just like it did when she left everybody in Tree Hill. Especially Peyton.

Peyton was her best friend, the only one that could claim that she knew her so well, sometimes better than Brooke knew herself. She was always there for her, and Brooke believed that that would never change. Only it did. Ok, so they still talked everyday, but Peyton wasn't there so she could see when Brooke was only pretending to laugh when she only wanted to cry. She wasn't there when Brooke needed to cry in her arms. Brooke discovered just how much she had relied on Peyton the moment she moved in LA. The funny thing was that between the two of them, everybody always considered Brooke as the strong one. But she knew better. Peyton was her rock. The one always there. Peyton was Brooke's family, the only family she knew.

As soon as her thoughts drifted to her family, her absent parents that is, Brooke increased her pace. Her parents… her family… what a joke! In a way, Brooke was happy with their divorce, it was kind of liberating to know that now the whole world could see what Brooke had always known. The charade of the picture perfect family her parents had put up for years had finally crumbled down on them. The bad thing was her own world crumbled along with their marriage, but as usual they were too busy with themselves to notice her. She kept telling to herself that she liked it this way. That it left her free to do whatever she wanted. She never had a curfew, she never got grounded, she could stay out all night, or bring whoever she wanted back home for the night. Plus, she had all the money in the world and her parents never complained on the outrageous size of her credit cards bills. Her life was every other teen's dream. Just perfect, absolutely freaking perfect.

By now Brooke was running as fast as she could. The morning wind whipping her face. Perfect or not that was her life. She got used to it. She knew that things would never get better with her parents. She had accepted that long ago, after she had spent numerous holidays and birthdays alone wishing they would remember to give her a call. What she didn't expect was for her life to become even worse. The news of the divorce left her dump-stricken. She would have never thought that it would end like that. And no, it wasn't because like every other kid she believed in her parents' eternal love for each other. Brooke didn't believe in love, period. What she did believe was that her parents would never dare to do something to damage their social standing. They always were adamant in keeping appearances. They fought constantly but only behind closed doors. Her mother got drunk but always appeared sober and happy in their social appearances. Her father was always cold with her, and probably cheated on her with his secretary, but at least he was always discrete about it. No one knew…no one could ever imagine. Just Brooke. But Brooke had her own appearances to keep, she was their little princess. The doll they showed off to reaffirm the perfect family picture. Then suddenly, her mother did the inconceivable. She fell in love, or at least that is what she said. She said she couldn't keep on with the lies. She did a pretty good job for seventeen years, though. She should have been proud, she was the one that taught Brooke how to live in a lie, and Brooke had just perfected the art. So just like that, her mother left them, she left her family, her husband and her daughter, and she left them for love.

Love was bullshit. The fairytale every guy feeds to a girl to get her in bed. Except for Brooke. She didn't need the fairytale. She took sex as what it was, two people satisfying their physical needs. Nothing more and nothing less. And she made sure she had her needs always satisfied, with a new guy every week, not wanting to get attached to someone…not wanting to miss him when he would go. Did that make her a slut? Probably. Did she mind being thought of as a slut? Brooke had no courage to give an honest answer to this one. What she kept telling herself instead was that it didn't matter what anyone thought. The important thing was that she had her fun. It's not like anyone would ever dare say anything to her face, she would destroy them.

And now here she was back from where she started. Maybe that was her chance to begin a new life with a clean slate. That was the first thought that had crossed her mind when her father announced that they were going to move back to Tree Hill. But as the details of her mother's affair got known to her, and as she said goodbye to her old life in LA, Brooke realized that she had neither the will nor the courage to change.

For a while there she thought that maybe her father would change after this ordeal. He seemed really devastated from her mother's behavior, her betrayal ran too deep for him to ignore. Brooke hoped that maybe he would turn to her now, maybe she could be there for him now that he needed her. That hope was shattered when he told her that he was going to leave for a couple of months for a business trip as soon as they got settled back. A week after this announcement he told her that he actually had to move his trip up and he would not come back to Tree Hill with her before his trip. He would have to postpone his return until after the trip. So much for changes and starting over.

She stopped and took a look around her. She had somehow found her way to the riverside park. The sun had just risen. She had no idea how long she had been running but she was now breathless. She raised her hand to wipe the sweat of her face only to trace the wet tracks on her cheeks. She had been crying and she didn't even realize it. She searched for a bench so she could regain her breath for a second and allow her puffy eyes to return to normal before heading back home. She finally chose to sit on the grass under a tree near the river bank and enjoy the early morning quietness. If only that annoying bouncing noise would stop. What the hell?

* * *

Lucas dribbled the ball hard against the concrete floor. He aimed and took a free throw.

"_You'll never be good enough"_

The ball was in. Grabbing it back quickly he started dribbling again. He ran to the basket stopping a few feet away and throwing it to the basket.

"_You don't have what it takes. You never did and you never will"_

The ball fell through the net again. He picked it back again and gripped it hard. Another shot.

"_Doing your best is not enough. You have to be the best. Better than all of them."_

The ball went in again and Lucas gathered it up one more time. He slowly paced to the other end of the court bouncing the ball hard along the way.

"_Why can't you be like Nathan? He has what it takes. __Now, he is my son. He knows what he has to do and he does it. You'll never be like him."_

Bounce.

"_You think you're good? You think you're something just because you are the co-captain in your high-school team? Believe me, you're nothing! You'll never get into a good college unless you straighten your act up"_

Bounce.

"_Why aren't you practicing again? You'll never make it like this"_

Bounce.

"_Nothing is more important than your game"_

Bounce.

"_Do you ever think about your future, Lucas? Do you want to be nothing for the rest of your life? Do you wanna end up a looser like him?"_

Bounce.

"_I've had it with you. When are you gonna pull yourself together and actually make something of yourself?"_

Bounce.

"_You are worthless! Even your own mother couldn't handle being with you so she left, leaving me __to put up with your crap!"_

Bounce.

"_Sometimes I doubt you're even my real son"_

Bounce.

"_You always fail me Lucas, I hope at least you're proud of yourself"_

Bounce.

"_Show them what you've got. Show them who you are. Show them you are a Scott. Show them you are my son!"_

Lucas stopped and looked at the basket standing across the court from him. He aimed and then suddenly turned around and threw the ball towards the river with all his force. Splash!

"Well, you do seem to be strong, but you could use some work with your aim" An amused voice rang behind him, scaring him shitless.

* * *

_**AN:**_I know I'm repeating myself here…but your comments guys have really made my day! They are what keeps me writing and updating so often…Now you've been patient enough with me…and I promise you will soon be rewarded. I just had to set up the story…but soon enough the _fun_ will begin:)

Now…about some of your questions, I don't want to give too much away, but this is definitely going to be Brucas… again patience is the key…otherwise it just wouldn't be interesting, now would it?

I must admit though Brathan is kind of growing on me too…and they do have their purpose in this story…so don't worry they'll probably have their time…sort of…:)

About the Breyton friendship…would you believe it if I said that I don't really like Peyton that much myself? But as I started writing this…I think I liked my version of her! LOL

About Naley and Jeyton or Jaley and Pathan…well I was inclined towards the first pairings, I have my ideas on how it will work out…But I am not against the other idea as well…I just didn't think of it that way originally.

Now all and all, many things will change both relationship and friendship wise as it is apparent…So don't give up on the Baley friendship…I absolutely love Haley and I love the two of them as friends!

Oh…and thanks to _cutiek88,_ I didn't even know I had the anonymous reviews turned off, lol, I'm just clueless that way I guess!

Now…before the note gets longer than the actual chapter…just thank you again!!! And the next update will probably be up today and it's turning out quite long! LOL


	5. Broody and Cheery

_**AN:**_Thank you for reading and for all your great reviews, the response I'm getting has really blown me away!

I want to apologize for the poor use of the basketball terminology, since English is not my first language this part was really difficult for me, feel free to point out any mistakes I made!

This for obvious reasons was both the most difficult and most fun chapter to write so far…I'm not sure with the end result…but since I promised it would be up yesterday…here you go…I know you all waited for this…and that makes me even more anxious to see what you think…I hope you're not completely disappointed!

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Broody and Cheery**_

Lucas turned around swiftly to the sound of the voice. He was met by a beautiful brunette with hazel eyes smiling at him. She was wearing a pair of pink sweat pants and a white tank top. She must have been running cause her cheeks were still flashed and there was sweat glistening on her tanned skin which was visible above her top. She had some make up on, but it was light and it just brought out her sparkling eyes. Some tendrils had gone loose from the messy bun she had her hair and were now framing her face. He took in every detail of her appearance in seconds surprising even himself and suddenly realized that he was probably staring at her the whole time.

"Jesus! You scared the hell out of me!" He finally said.

Brooke was broken from her daze when she heard his voice. She had followed the sound of the bouncing ball and found herself watching a gorgeous blonde boy playing alone in the riverside court. She stayed under a tree a little far from the court and watched him running and bouncing the ball. She could hardly make his face from the distance but she was fascinated by the way he played. He wasn't actually playing, it was more like he was fighting…with what she had no idea…but she wanted to find out. That was why she had finally decided to approach him. As she moved closer she could make out his well-formed muscles under his t-shirt that was by now sticking at all the right places from his sweat. She reached him right at the point he was tossing the ball to the river, confirming her thoughts that he was fighting out his frustrations. She was ready to tease him and that's what she started doing but when he turned and looked at her with his icy blue eyes she couldn't think of anything to say. She should have teased him for staring at her but all she could do was stare back. She tried to shake her thoughts and find a quick reply.

"Didn't think you had any witnesses when you were getting rid of the poor ball? What did it do to you anyway?" She replied still smiling.

Lucas scoffed for a minute.

"Maybe I should get rid of the eye-witness the same way I did of the ball?" He replied with a smirk.

"I don't fancy a swim in the river so early in the morning, thank you very much" Brooke quipped.

"What are you doing out here so early anyway?" He asked intrigued. It was just 6:30am and from the looks of the girl she must have been running for quite some time now.

"I could ask you the same you know" Brooke replied as she made her way to the bleachers at the court side and plopped down resting her back against the upper row bench.

"I'm practicing" Lucas simply replied.

"Uh-hah…then I'm running"

"You must really love running to be out here at this hour" Lucas insisted.

"As a matter of fact I do. It helps clear your head, you know? And besides a girl needs to stay in shape" She concluded smiling smugly.

"Well, it certainly serves its purpose then" Lucas said as he gave her an eye over.

Did he just say that? This was not like him, not like him at all, Lucas thought puzzled.

Brooke felt herself blushing. This was not right. Brooke Davis did not blush because of some lame compliment.

"Can't say the same thing for your practice" She smirked at him.

Lucas started laughing and Brooke couldn't help but grin herself as she watched his beautiful smile.

"You are new around here" Lucas stated as he too came and sat next to her at the bench.

"Hm…something like that" She answered staring at the river, just trying to avoid his gaze. There was something about his eyes that when she looked at him she just couldn't think properly.

"What do you mean? I certainly haven't seen you around here before. Tree Hill isn't that big to miss a girl like you"

"A girl like me?" Brooke asked playfully.

Lucas just chuckled.

"You hardly seem like the modest type" He answered still smiling.

"And like which type do you think I seem? Being such an expert since you've been talking to me for…wow… almost a whole minute now?" She said partly angry and partly interested in seeing what he thought about her.

"Hey, don't get mad." He said defensively. "I just meant, that you seem very confident, not that you don't have every right to be"

Now he definitely needed to think before talking, was he actually hitting on her? But he couldn't help it…it just…just came out.

Ok… so she had to absolutely do something with that blushing thing. So for starters, she decided to change the subject.

"So, you come here often to practice?"

"Yeah…yeah I do. This is my favorite court. Me and my friends used to play here very often"

"Used to? You don't play anymore?"

"No we do…I…I just don't come as often lately" He said and Brooke could discern a sadness in his voice.

"How come?" She insisted.

She watched as his face grew serious.

"My father thinks it's a waste of time and I should spend my time in a real gym instead" He scoffed as his eyes turned icy.

"I see" She replied quietly not sure how to respond on something that seemed to her that hid a lot more than the blonde-haired boy was saying.

He didn't respond and seemed lost in his own thoughts. Brooke stayed silent for a while too.

"You know…parents can be a real pain in the ass!" She concluded seriously.

Lucas turned to her and just broke into laughter.

"That was very profound" He teased her.

"At least I made you smile; you have a very cute smile, Broody"

"Excuse me?"

"I said you have a cute smile"

"First of all, I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment…cute? Couldn't you use another word like…"

"Sexy?" Brooke interrupted with a husky voice.

Lucas tried to ignore the goosebumps at his neck and continued while trying to steady his voice.

"And second… _broody_? Where did that come from?"

"My best friend tells me I have a thing for nicknames" Brooke explained shrugging. "You looked so serious….you were brooding, Broody!"

Lucas just looked at her. Her eyes sparkled and she was smiling again, showing off a pair of adorable dimples that completed her perfect face.

"Broody? Hello? Did I lose you or something?" She said waving her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Uh? Yeah, sorry I spaced out"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Well…I was thinking of how I was going to call you…you haven't told me your name yet"

Brooke jumped from the bench and clapped her hands grinning excitedly.

"That's a great idea, Broody!"

"What's a great idea?" Lucas asked genuinely confused.

"I don't know your name…but I will call you Broody…so how about I won't tell you my name and you can give me a nickname as well? I never had one. Well, Goldilocks sometimes calls me bitch but I don't think that really counts. I mean I call everybody with a different name and they all call me by the same name…my name that is, but that is just too boring! I need a nickname too! Brilliant idea, Broody!"

Lucas just laughed mesmerized by the stunning girl's excited rumblings.

"Don't laugh! Think! It will be my first nickname, it has to be good!" Brooke pouted. "Maybe I could even give you some hints about what you could use…" She said getting a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It could be something along the lines of how amazingly gorgeous and wonderful, you think I am?"

Lucas was unable to keep his laughter. This girl's excitement was contagious. And she looked so beautiful when she took that serious look while talking absolute nonsense.

"I don't think that would be fair. I have to think of it on my own. Besides…it's too late now. I've already thought of the perfect name for you!"

"You have?" Brooke asked surprised kinking her eyebrow.

"Uh-huh"

"Well, what is it then? Come on Broody, I hate waiting!" She said tapping her foot impatiently.

"Maybe I should think about it a little more…we want to keep you satisfied"

"Come on! Tell me what it is and maybe we can work on it together…"

"Maybe you should just tell me how you would like me to call you?"

"Urgh! Fine! We'll keep the one you thought…just out with it already! You know…I might think that you are just trying to get yourself some time here and you haven't really thought of any name yet…" She said raising her eyebrows skeptically at him.

"Now, why would I be doing that, Cheery?"

"Cheery?" Brooke repeated in a quite whisper trying the name out.

"You don't like it?" Lucas asked with an anxious look on his face.

"Cheery…well…I could live with it, it could be worse…I guess" She said without much enthusiasm.

She watched as his face showed his disappointment and she couldn't help laughing.

Lucas just stared at her puzzled.

"You're too easy!"

As realization downed on him he scoffed.

"Cheery! I love it!" She said bouncing up and down. Before he knew it she had just lunged on him engulfing him in a tight hug.

His scoff was now replaced by the widest grin ever and his hands quickly found their way to her back to return the hug.

"Thank you" She whispered before releasing herself from his arms.

He didn't know why she was thanking him. Truth be told, he didn't or couldn't think of anything else but the way she felt in his arms. The way her warmth had spread all over his body leaving a tingling sensation all over him. He briefly took in the smell of her hair…vanilla, was it?

He had called her Cheery. Not sexy…not hotty…not slutty…but cheery. Of course it was probably just a response to her calling him broody but at this point she didn't really care. It was just so amazing to her that someone could notice something else about her rather than her appearance. When she jumped in his arms she did it as she had done with numerous others in the past, but the way she felt when he encircled her with his strong arms was very different from anything she had ever felt before. She tried to think of a way to describe the feeling but all she could think of was that she just never wanted to pull away. Maybe that described it well enough.

They were both silent for a while looking at each other and smiling, but Brooke being Brooke decided she had to break the silence, after all she now had a name to live up to.

"Ok, Broody if you keep smiling like that I will have to find a new name for you!" She told him teasingly.

He realized that he must have been smiling like an idiot an immediately put on a fake scowl on.

"Better?" He asked sarcastically.

"Nah…I think we've established that you look sexier when you're smiling" Brooke said in her husky voice as she passed by him and started looking around the court.

Lucas just exhaled slowly, that girl had a strange influence on him.

"Well, make up your mind…can't have everything"

"I usually do" Brooke replied smugly while turning to face him again.

Lucas just shook his head amused.

"And you got mad when I called you confident"

"I didn't get mad!"

"Yes, you did!"

""No, I…" Brooke trailed off looking away from him.

He was about to apologize again, not sure for what, again, but she continued talking.

"Don't you just hate labels?"

"Labels?"

"Yeah… everybody has a label… everybody fits into a stereotype. It's like no one can be his own person. We have to fit under some category. That's so sad"

Lucas nodded. He wondered exactly how this conversation had turned serious and exactly why this beautiful stranger was opening up to him like that.

"But the funny thing is my entire life I've been doing my best to fit into that stereotype" She concluded with a small shrug and a sad smile.

"We all do" Lucas replied solemnly.

"I guess… but some of us do it more than others. And some of us are just too good at it"

"Well, you're new here, so you can change that. You got a fresh start… a second chance if you may say…so you can be whoever you want…now that you know better"

Brooke just stared at him intently. It was just like he had read her thoughts….it was just that he had missed some pieces of the puzzle the ones that prevented her from doing so.

"I told you I'm not exactly new in Tree Hill. But that doesn't even matter. What matters is that I knew better even before but I still did it, I still do." Brooke said with a sigh.

Lucas shook his head.

"I think you're wrong." He said seriously.

She looked at him with interest.

"The girl that fit that label you're talking about, wouldn't be talking to me like this right now. She would never admit what you just did. So maybe, you are changing a bit…even without realizing it"

Brooke bit her lip thinking about his words. She really had no idea why she said everything she had said…it just felt okay…like she could…like he would be able to understand.

"Yeah, maybe I am…I don't know. But it's easier here…with only you around, a complete stranger. But on Monday, at school or around more people…it's like I have to live up to everybody's expectations. The same expectations you too had from me, when you first saw me." She said looking at him pointedly.

"I really didn't mean it that way" Lucas protested.

"Yes, you did. But that's fine. As I told you some of us are just too good at doing this…fitting this label. Are you good at it, Broody?"

Lucas seemed surprised by her question.

"I'm not" He replied.

She didn't seem satisfied with his answer as she kept staring at him waiting for more.

"It's not that I'm not trying, because I am. I'm trying to fit to that role… to live up to everybody's expectations like you said…but apparently they don't think I'm doing a very good job with it"

"That was why you were here at the crack of dawn? To live up to his expectations?"

He looked at her shocked.

"His?" he murmured.

Brooke shrugged.

"Your dad"

His eyes turned dark and he looked away from her.

Brooke felt like she had pushed too far. He was after all just a stranger she met and she was pushing him to confess about his relationship with his father which was obviously a troubled one. Maybe she felt like spilling her guts to him but that didn't mean he felt the same way.

"Ok, Broody….I think you're contagious. I don't know why I turned so serious on you all of a sudden…"

"I have to be better than him. That was what I'm trying to live up to" Lucas interrupted her finally speaking.

He didn't really intend to tell her that. But the way she guessed he was talking about his father took him by surprise. That bubbly girl that could go on and on talking and laughing about anything was surprisingly very perceptive…or maybe he was that transparent. But somehow since she had already guessed it and since as she herself said it was so much easier to talk to a complete stranger, he felt that he could tell her and maybe she would even understand.

"At basketball?" She asked him.

Lucas nodded still not looking at her.

"Mostly..."

"Well, I don't know how good your father is…but you have a long way to go from what I saw today. Your aim seriously sucks! " She teased trying to get a smile out of him.

Lucas turned to her while a cocky grin was forming on his face.

"You think so?"

"Hey…I'm just calling it how I see it…or saw it, whatever!"

"Hm…" Lucas seemed to think about it for a minute and then started walking towards the other side of the court.

"Hey…where are you going? You're not actually leaving, you're not angry, are you?" She only wanted to tease him he couldn't possibly be upset over it.

He reached a dumpster and bent behind it to stand back up with another ball in his hands.

"Oh" Brooke exhaled extremely relieved. "So this must been happening a lot to you" She continued teasingly again.

"What?" He asked as he walked back to her.

"Well…you must have lost many balls in the river to keep a spare back there just in case!"

Lucas chuckled.

"The guys and I always leave a ball behind so if any of us passes by and feels like shooting some hoops he can do it"

"Very well then, Broody! Now, I'm waiting… show me what you've got!" Brooke exclaimed while she took a seat at the bleachers once again.

"As the lady commands" Lucas said while taking a small bow.

Brooke giggled excitedly. She had seen him play earlier, when she was standing in the distance watching him and she could tell he was good, all the years cheerleading had at least taught her to discern the good players. Of course he was unaware of that… and Brooke had no intention of correcting him, why would she pass on an opportunity to see him sweating all over again?

Lucas made his way to the three-pointer line. He took a big step backwards and started dribbling the ball. Ok…what the hell? He was nervous! He couldn't be, right? He had made shots from this distance numerous times. But what if he didn't make it this time? She would certainly laugh at him. Talk about being humiliated! It was not that he would get angry at her…it was just that…he just had to impress her!

"Aren't you a little too far away from the basket? What if we lose this one also? You've got another one hidden around here?" She teased him.

Lucas looked at her grinning and took another step backwards. Ok…it was either do it or…argh… really as he saw it he had no other choice! Taking a deep breath to calm himself down and gathering all his nerve he took the ball in his arms and aimed. He turned to smile at her one more time before turning and releasing the ball with a small jump. He almost closed his eyes afraid to see if he made it or not…he knew he could do it…heck, his three-pointers was one of his best traits, but it didn't help that his hands were almost trembling and his heart was thumping hard in his chest. He watched as the ball made her way and went straight through the net touching nothing but air. As soon as the ball went in he released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and turned to look at Brooke, an expression of utter satisfaction on his face.

He was able to catch a glimpse of her impressed face before she frowned and yelled at him.

"Show off!"

He went to gather the ball laughing.

"You were the one that asked me to show you what I've got" He shrugged innocently.

"Yeah, right! I guess you use this trick to impress all the girls"

No…this was the first time he thought once again surprised by the reactions this girl got from him.

"Did it work?" He asked instead.

"Pleasee…I have watched so many games…one lucky shot isn't enough to impress me"

"Lucky?" He yelled with mock irritation.

Brooke grinned widely.

"It could have been just a fluke…" She insisted.

"Unbelievable. You know I'm one of the best players in my school's team."

"Maybe your team just sucks big time?"

"You're too funny." Lucas quipped as he moved to his prior position two steps away from the three-pointer line. Feeling a bit more confident this time he aimed and took another shot. The ball went right through the net again.

"I guess this is my lucky day then" He said turning to Brooke and looking at her smugly.

"Well, of course it is. " She said as she got up from the bench and approached him. "Today you met me" She whispered hoarsely as she walked by him brushing his shoulder and went to take the ball.

He watched her as she held the ball and looked at the basket trying once again to ignore the sensations her voice and touch had risen in him.

"You're not seriously going to tell me you play as well"

"Here we go again…what did I tell you about…"

"Labels…yeah, my bad! I'm sorry, Cheery! I won't…"

"Oh Broody, you never learn!"

"What?"

"I couldn't hit that basket if my life depended on it!"

Lucas laughed shaking his head.

"You know it's weird…for all the time I've spend in a basketball court…I've never actually tried playing"

"And why do you spend so much time on a court?"

"You mean besides admiring cute guys in little shorts? By the way, next time Broody, I'm expecting to see you in one of those" She said smiling suggestively.

"Yeah, besides that" He laughed excited. So she was expecting to actually see him again?

"Well…I am a cheerleader!"

"You are?"

"Uh-hah…and a very good one if I may say so myself!"

"So Cheery is a cheerleader...I should have known"

"Yes! See…you really had me with that one"

"So…" Lucas said thoughtfully "You really never tried playing?"

"Nope"

"Well…you could always start now…"

"I don't think I like where this is going. What are you thinking, Broody?" Brooke asked kinking her eyebrow looking questiongly at him.

"Come here" Lucas said as he walked to the free throw position and gestured for her to join him.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Brooke exclaimed with a terrified look on her face.

"Don't you wanna try it?"

"No, I most certainly don't! Get that idea out of your head, Broody! There's absolutely no way I'm doing this" She concluded almost in panic.

"Why not?" He asked laughing with her panicked expression.

"Because I will be horrible, because I will be humiliated, because you will laugh at me!" Brooke ranted waving her hands around.

"No, I wouldn't do that…would I? I mean after all I may be even worse than you…if you hadn't caught me on my lucky day, that is." Lucas said raising his eyebrows at her.

"Oh God! See…now you're going to get back at me! Okay, I relent, you are great!"

"Come on, Cheery…"

"The greatest I've ever seen?"

"Come on! It's gonna be fun. Give it a try. I promise I won't laugh"

"God…I don't believe I'm gonna do this…this is so not me!"

"Time for a change, remember?"

"Fine, Broody…have it your way, but I swear if you laugh you are so going to regret it!"

"I won't laugh! Now… come stand right here…"

"Erm… are we not too far away? Why don't we go a bit closer?"

"We are not too far away. This is from where you take a free throw, now…"

"I know that! I don't play, doesn't mean I don't know how the stupid game is played! I am a cheerleader remember? I watched so many games! And contrary to public believe I do pay attention to the game! I mean I have to know when we're wining to cheer and…"

"Cheery, stop stalling!" Lucas cut her off laughing.

"Fine!" Brooke huffed.

She looked at the basket and aimed as best as she could. She threw the ball towards it putting as much strength as she could manage…unfortunately she noticed it didn't even reach the rim.

Lucas chuckled only to receive a jab in the ribs by her.

"I told you not to laugh!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Geez…no need to get physical! So let me see…you do seem strong…the bruise I'll have on my ribs tonight can testify to that…but you could work on your aim" He said with a teasing smile repeating her earlier words.

"HA! We found ourselves a comedian!" Brooke retorted with irritation.

"Ok…ok…I'm sorry. I won't say anything else. Now, let's see, you threw it all wrong your stance and your arms were all wrong. Let's try it again together."

"Maybe we should just forget about it?"

"Come on…you don't want to give up that easily now do you?"

Brooke muttered something under her breath and looked at him expectantly.

"Are you gonna get the damn ball back or not?" she said with a commanding tone.

Lucas chuckled again as he nodded and ran to retrieve the rolling ball. He took and gave it to her and then went to stand right behind Brooke.

"Okay…so the way you're holding it…no not that way" He said as he reached with his arms from behind her and corrected the way she was holding the ball.

She could feel his breath on her neck sending shivers down her spine. His torso was touching her back, his arms were tight around her trying to reach for her outstretched ones. Brooke's heartbeat increased rapidly.

Lucas became also aware of their position all too sudden and he got all flustered. Her body was almost pressed up against his and he was trying his best to concentrate on the task at hand and not the way her smooth skin felt when he touched her or how her hair smelled. Yeah…it was definitely vanilla.

"You need to bend your knees a little…" He said as he nudged her knees with his own.

Brooke followed his lead trying not to just fall back against him.

"Like this?" She murmured turning her face towards him bringing them only inches apart.

"Um…ye…yeah. And… when y- you 're about to shoot…you ju-just give a little jump and stretch your arms" Lucas stuttered.

"Okay" Brooke whispered again as she turned around. She would be lucky if the damn ball even made it a foot away from her the way she was feeling so weak in his arms.

"Okay…on three" He whispered at her neck again. "One…two…three"

He released her and she did as he told her… watching in amazement as the ball actually made it to the basket this time. Only hitting the rim and falling away of course.

"See, you did much better" Lucas stated as he took a deep breath to regain his composure and started to go get the ball back again.

"Now try it on your own" He said offering her the ball.

Brooke was slightly disappointed but she had to admit that if he took her in his arms once again she would probably forget about the basketball lesson and turn around to kiss him senseless. It was not like she hadn't made out with guys she had talked a lot less with. Heck…she had even slept with some of them.

Alarm bells were also ringing in Lucas's head. If she had stayed in his arms looking at him for a minute longer he would have kissed her. The desire to do it was just too big. He had never felt that way for a girl he only knew for a few minutes but that girl was just so different from everything he knew… Somewhere in his head there was a little voice telling him that all this could take a really bad turn and what he was doing or better yet feeling was not exactly right, but since he was also hearing another voice screaming at him about how much he was enjoying himself in the presence of this amazing girl, he easily ignored the nagging whispers. He had to admit, this girl was just breathtaking. Her every move had so much grace…her eyes had a unique sparkle and her smile just made him smile as well. He was broken out of his trance by the swishing noise of the ball going through the net!

"Yay!" Brooke squealed excitedly as she clapped her hands bouncing around.

"Uh?" Lucas asked bewildered.

"You didn't see it? Broodyyy!" Brooke whined. "I just made the shot!" She continued with excitement.

"You did?"

"Yes! Hey… maybe I can be good at this game after all! But you didn't see it, really?"

"Well, just do it again so I can watch"

"Now we are getting ahead of ourselves. I was lucky to get one in!"

"Maybe this is your lucky day as well?"

"I think it actually might be" Brooke said smiling at him letting her dimples at full display.

The two of them continued playing at the court…most of it was actually Lucas playing and Brooke watching and cheering on him. After his insisting she actually tried to take some more shots herself causing the ball to bounce of the rim and Lucas to laugh and tease her only for her to start chasing him around. They both collapsed on the bleachers breathless after a while.

"Well…I'm beat" Brooke proclaimed.

"Yeah…I think we overdid it"

"What time is it anyway?"

"Uhm…it's half past nine"

"Nine?! Oh my God! How did it get nine already?" Brooke yelled as she jumped up from the bench.

"I don't know, I didn't realize it was so late either"

"Gosh! I have to get back! Blondie is going to go nuts!"

"Blondie?"

"My best friend, she stayed with me last night. She was still sleeping when I left. Now she must be up! Shit! I have to run!"

"Yeah…my dad is probably looking for me as well"

"Ok…so I guess I'll see you around, Broody" She said as she turned to leave in a hurry.

"Hey…wait a sec! I don't even know your name! How am I going to see you again?" Lucas said getting up also.

She turned to look at him with a pleased smile on her face.

"You do go to Tree Hill High, don't you?" She asked him.

"Yeah…"

"Well, then I'll see you there!"

"You are coming to our school?" He asked grinning.

"Well-duh!!!"

"Okay then, I'll see you on Monday, Cheery"

"You can count on that Broody, you can definitely count on that!" Brooke winked at him and then started running back to her house.

Lucas stayed watching her retreating form, the smile never leaving his face.


	6. Walking on Clouds

_**AN:**_ Wow! I was really nervous about the last chapter and your comments really made me happy! Thank you guys, to everybody that read and especially to those that took the time to review.

So this took me a little longer, because I had some doubts on how realistic it is. Just remember it's fiction, so go along with it!!! lol

I have to admit that I don't have the whole story planned out yet. I have of course a general outline in my head, but it changes as new ideas pop in there…and as I read what you're thinking about it. So I may be not answering to all of your questions, but that's because you're asking me to reveal too much…and where would be the fun in that? But please be certain that I'm taking all your comments into consideration and they help me shape the story, so please do continue with the suggestions and what you would like and wouldn't…though I might not be able to satisfy everyone.

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

_**Walking on Clouds**_

There were two very excited teens that entered their respective houses thinking about the events of the previous hours, only to be met by two not so excited teens that had spent the same hours worrying about them.

* * *

"Hey, P. Saywer, I see you've finally got your lazy ass off bed!" Brooke said grinning as she saw the blonde sitting on the kitchen stool staring at a mug of coffee. 

"I've been up for more than two hours, Brooke! Where the hell have you been?!" A furious Peyton inquired.

"I went running. Didn't you see my note? I left it right there at the fridge"

"That was two hours ago! Or even earlier! What the hell did you do all this time? And why on earth would you go running so early in the morning?"

"Geez…chill out, Pey! What's the big deal? I just got a bit side-tracked." Brooke said smiling again as she thought of the blue-eyed boy that got her side-tracked.

Peyton eyed her suspiciously.

"For a moment, I'm going to ignore the fact that you had me worrying sick for you, and concentrate on the stupid smile on your face. Brookie, care to share?"

Brooke looked at her friend with sparkling eyes.

"I might have something to share with you, Blondie, but you'll have to wait until after I take a shower!" She said playfully as she made a swift exit from the kitchen.

"Brooke! Get back here!" Peyton screamed only to be met by the sound of Brooke's giggles from the other room.

* * *

"Good morning, little-brother" Lucas said smiling at Nathan who was sitting at the kitchen table devouring some cereals. 

"Luke, where the hell did you go, man?"

"Uh?" Lucas said confused. "I was just at the Rivercourt shooting some hoops"

"It's ten o clock, Luke! Dad went ballistic when he realized you were not here for our morning run"

Lucas momentarily cringed but quickly shrugged it off.

"I was practicing like he wants me to, Nate."

"You know better than to miss our run, man. You know how he can be…and I had to listen to him for the whole run!" Nathan said irritated.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was planning on being here when he woke up…but I kinda lost track of time" Lucas said smiling as he thought about the stunning brunette that made him forget about his dad and his stupid morning runs.

"Man, I'm telling you dad is going to chew off your ass when he gets back from work, and you're grinning like an idiot? What's wrong with this picture?" Nathan asked curious.

"I have no idea what you mean. And I must hop to the shower" Luke said as he headed for the door, still grinning.

"Luke…" Nathan said impatiently.

"Be back in a few" Came Lucas's reply from the hallway.

* * *

Brooke came back in the kitchen after a quick shower finding Peyton still sitting at the same spot. 

"You didn't make me any coffee?" She whined pouting.

"Oh! How rude of me! Would Princess Brooke also care for some breakfast?" Peyton offered sarcastically.

"Still mad at me? Come on, Blondie…Please forgive me and I will tell you all about the most amazing morning I've just had!" Brooke said while hugging Peyton from behind.

"Uh! Fine! You're forgiven…but just because I can't wait to hear about what you got yourself into this time!" Peyton relented.

"Thank you!" Brooke said excitedly as she went to pour some coffee for herself.

She slowly opened the cupboard and spent a few seconds staring at the mugs seemingly wanting to pick one. When she finally got it she started pouring the coffee and then deliberately taking her time she searched for a spoon and the sugar. Peyton was watching her with an ever growing frown.

"Would you get your ass down here, and start talking already?" She finally yelled getting frustrated.

"Ok…ok…geez…it's not like it's something that important…I've only just met the most gorgeous boy ever!" Brooke squealed excited.

"You met a guy?! When?! How?!" Peyton yelled completely baffled.

"But this morning, of course. While I was running…oh Pey….he is sooo good! Perfect!"

"You met a guy while you went running in the crack of dawn? This would only happen to you B. Davis"

"I know! I am that lucky sometimes!"

"So…what's his name? Maybe I know him, is he around our age?"

Brooke frowned.

"Crap! I didn't think that you could know him. You probably do, actually. He goes to our school, though I'm not sure about his age. He's also in the basketball team"

"Well…tell me his name and I'll give you all the dirt on him…"

"Well…" Brooke said looking down… "The problem is…that…I don't exactly know his name"

"You don't know his name?!"

"Nope. Maybe I really do have a problem with the nickname thingy after all!"

"Did you actually talk to him, Brooke or did you just saw him?"

"Of course I talked to him!" Brooke said offended. "You think I would spot a guy that hot and pass up on the chance to talk to him?!"

"So you talked…but he didn't tell you his name…but he did tell you he goes to our school and is in the basketball team?" Peyton said looking confused.

"Uh….as I said the nickname thingy…I kind of got a nickname for him… and he got one for me… so we didn't actually exchange our names." Brooke shrugged biting her lip.

Peyton just shook her head amused. Brooke was such a scatterbrain at times.

"Ok…so how did he look like? Is he a senior?"

Brooke bit her lip nervously.

"I didn't actually ask that either. But he had the most amazing eyes ever…"

"Oh, then I know who he is!" Peyton said sarcastically.

"You do?" Brooke jumped excitedly.

"Of course not you idiot!" Peyton said exasperatedly.

"He's blonde?" Brooke tried lamely.

"Real helpful Brooke…that just leaves us with half the basketball team…Lucas included!" Peyton said laughing.

"Har-har, funny, Blondie! You don't really think it could have been your boy-toy, do you?"

"Now, that would be funny"

"No, no it wouldn't!" Brooke said in panic.

"Relax Brooke, it wasn't Lucas"

"Are you sure? How can you be sure?"

"Luke got home real late last night, I called him earlier and his cell is off, he's still sleeping"

"Phewww…that's a relief. So we really can't figure out who he was, uh?"

"If you at least knew his age…he may actually be younger than you, Brookie, a lot younger!"

"You think? He really didn't seem too young. Urgh! Why couldn't I just ask for his name?"

"Because you had most important things to do? What did you two talk about anyway?"

"I don't know…this and that…" Brooke said smiling dreamily.

"You have been gone for more than two hours and you don't know what you talked about?"

"Actually…make that about three hours" Brooke grinned sheepishly.

"Three hours? Did you guys screw already?!"

"What?! Of course not, Pey!" Brooke said looking a bit hurt.

"Come on, Brooke, it's not that you haven't done something like that plenty of times!"

"True…I might have…but this time it wasn't like that"

"It wasn't?" Peyton repeated intrigued.

"No, Pey. It was…I don't know, different. We talked, really talked. He was really sweet and fun to hang out with"

"Uh-huh" Peyton said disbelievingly.

"Seriously, we just talked! Oh… we also played some basketball!" Brooke said grinning widely again thinking about their game.

Peyton looked at her with her mouth wide open.

"Don't look at me that way, Blondie! It was fun!"

"Brooke…you Brooke Penelope Davis…._you_ played basketball? Like…actually with a ball in a court and a basket?"

"No…like with a saucer pan in a kitchen! Of course we played with a ball in a basketball court, Pey!"

"Whoaa" Was all Peyton managed to say.

"I know…" Brooke nodded smiling sheepishly.

* * *

"So dad gave you a hard time?" Lucas asked Nathan as he entered the kitchen and started preparing his own breakfast. 

"Uh…the usual I guess…he was mostly pissed at you…so I just had the pleasure of hearing about what a big looser you are"

"Yeah…that's about the usual" Lucas chuckled.

"Ok, bro, seriously what has got you into such a good mood this morning? This is not like you!"

"What? Can't I wake up feeling good one morning?"

"Don't give me this bullshit, Luke. Something's up and you are gonna tell me…now!" Nathan insisted.

"Really, it's nothing I just had a good time at the court today" Lucas said grinning.

"You have this goofy smile because you had a good time shooting hoops alone at the Rivercourt for the past…3 hours?"

"Well…I wasn't exactly alone all the time"

"The guys were there? So early? How come?"

"No…it wasn't the guys"

"Then who?" Nathan asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well…there was this girl…" Lucas smiled widely.

"A girl?"

"Yeap"

"At 7am, at the Rivercourt?"

"Yeap"

"Was she there to play basketball?"

Lucas laughed.

"Well, I got her to try eventually…but no, she had gone running"

"Okay Luke, of all the weird places where you could ever meet a girl at…"

"Tell me about it!"

"So she was like that athletic type chicks?"

Lucas laughed again.

"Hardly! This girl was …stunning" Lucas said with a glint in his eyes.

"Stunning?"

"Yeah…really gorgeous, Nate"

"Ha…" Nathan said skeptically.

"I'm telling you, you should have seen her! She was pretty amazing. And not just her looks…"

"Okay…so where did this amazing girl come from?"

"She must be new around here. But she'll be going to school with us. I can't wait to see her again"

"Urm…Luke…aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"Tall, with blonde curly hair and green eyes? Goes by the name Peyton and happens to be your girlfriend?"

"Yeah? What about Pey?"

"What about her? You talk about this new girl like you're completely smitten with her bro!"

"No…"

"Come on, man! Be honest"

"She was pretty great and we had fun together but that's all, Nate"

"Are you sure?"

"No…" Lucas mumbled looking down.

* * *

"I can't believe you, Brooke. You're not even here for a day and you already have found two hot guys…whoa…this must be a new record even for you!" 

"Two guys?" Brooke said puzzled.

"Hello??? Did you already forget about Nathan? I thought you really liked him!"

"Oh! Yes… Nathan…uhm….oh well" Brooke shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. You're right. I really like Nathan, Pey. I mean how could I not? But this guy….was just…urghhh!" Brooke yelled frustrated.

"Gorgeous? Hot? Great looking?"

"Yes, yes and yes! Not that Nathan isn't…but this guy was just…"

"Different"

"Exactly"

* * *

"Well…bro maybe you're more like me than you'd like to admit" Nathan smirked. 

"I really don't know what to say, Nate. I mean you know how much I care for Peyton…and I'm not the one to go fooling around, but…"

"But you just did…"

"Yeah…I don't know what it was about her, and it's not like anything happened…we just talked…and goofed around…and maybe flirted a bit…"

"You actually flirted with her?"

"Maybe" Lucas said squinting his eyes. "It was just a way she had about her…I didn't even think about it…it just happened"

"She obviously impressed you, but hey, you'll probably have forgotten about her by tomorrow"

"Only, I'll be seeing her on Monday"

"Oh yeah, that will be kind of weird I guess"

"Not really, we were just having fun. And she'll come to our school; I mean we could become friends?"

"Luke…" Nathan said shaking his head.

* * *

"So…what about him? Do you think he feels the same way about you?" 

"Hm…I'm not sure how I feel about him, right now"

"Yeah right, you know what I mean, Brooke"

"Ok…he seemed to be having a good time."

"Okay…?"

Brooke looked at her with a blank look.

"He seemed to be having a good time?! That's all? You're kidding me, right?"

"What…?"

"B. Davis! Oh my God! That guy really did a number on you! No, he was drooling? He was all over me? He completely fell for me? What happened to you?!"

Brooke started playing with her hair nervously.

"Well…he did flirt with me a little. But nothing too obvious…and I'm not really sure if he liked me or not."

"I don't believe this! My God, Brooke Davis has a crush on someone!"

"No I don't!"

"Oh, yes you do Brookie! You certainly do!"

* * *

"So what about her? Do you think she liked you?" 

"Uh…I really don't know"

"How can you not know?"

"Well…she seemed to be having a good time"

"Gee…then she's definitely head over heels with you"

"What do you want me to say, Nate? You didn't see her but I mean…she probably has a ton of guys running after her…"

"Yeah? So what?"

"So…she was probably just having some fun with me."

"But you two flirted didn't you?"

"Yeah…but I got the impression she's used to that. I mean any guy would be all over her in seconds…so maybe she was just playing along to make me feel good"

"Oh…so she's the flirt type?"

"It wasn't like that"

"Then how was it?"

"Different"

"Different? Different how?"

"I don't know…just….different."

"Man…you do realize how bad all this sounds, right?"

"Yeah…"

* * *

"Don't worry about it Brookie! It's not the end of the world!" 

"Don't make fun of me, Pey!" Brooke frowned.

"I'm not…it's just kind of funny to see you like this"

"Fine…please do enjoy yourself with my suffering!"

"Get real, Brooke. This guy probably has it just as bad as you do. The only one I'm feeling sorry for at this point is Nate"

"Nate? Why would you feel sorry about Nathan?"

"Because he really likes you Brooke! I know him! I can tell!"

"And I said I also like him. For all I know this other guy may have a girlfriend…or a dozen of girlfriends…or he may even be gay!"

Peyton burst into laughter.

"It is possible!" Brooke said laughing herself.

"Yeah…everything is possible Brooke, but I know one thing. This guy you're talking about may have one, two or a dozen girlfriends…but if you set your eyes on him…they all don't stand a chance!"

Brooke giggled.

"True…I mean which girl could ever compete with me…except you of course!"

"Of course!" Peyton smirked.

"But I'm just saying…I don't know much about him…we'll have to wait and see….in the mean time…" Brooke said with a naughty grin.

"In the mean time?"

"In the mean time…why not give a chance to Natey-boy?"

"Oh Brooke….you're incorrigible!"

"I'm not! I just want to have fun and get to know Nathan better….is that wrong?"

"No, that's actually pretty great!"

"I'm glad we agree. Now, we wasted a lot of time already… we have to get going! The mall is waiting for us!"

"Oh, the joy!" Peyton said sarcastically earning a hateful glare from Brooke.

* * *

"Ok, man, let's just forget about this for now. The girl will be at our school, so you'll get to see if it was just fun or something else entirely…" 

"Yeah, you're right. I'm probably freaking out without a reason"

"Probably. She just took you by surprise. And you're not used to this, so you feel guilty about flirting with her. Really Luke, it's not such a big deal!"

"I know…it's just not like me, you know? Since I started dating Peyton I never got interested in anyone else."

"Yeah, that's what surprised me as well. You are so into Peyton I never imagined you having eyes for anyone else. But again…not a big deal! You're a guy, and it's the first time I actually saw you acting like one!"

"Thanks, man!" Lucas said with a grimace. "Anyway, enough about me, how did the meeting with Peyton's friend go yesterday?"

"Oh right! I didn't tell you about her, did I?" Nathan said smiling widely.

"You were at sleep when I got home, so I didn't think it was a good idea to wake you"

"What did Keith want anyway? You obviously got home pretty late"

"Uh…the usual" Lucas said frowning.

"He was bad?"

"Completely plastered"

"Great…"

"Anyway…about Miss Brooke Davis…?"

"Oh yes!" Nathan grinned.

"Ok…who's the one with the goofy smile now?"

"You're not the only one that met an amazingly gorgeous girl, big brother. Brooke Davis is the hottest girl I've ever seen"

"Is that so? Hotter than Rachel?"

"Please… Rachel has nothing on her"

"Okay…you have my attention"

"She was great, Luke. Peyton was actually right when she told us how great she is."

"So you liked her that much?"

"Yeah…yeah I did. I mean she's kind of wild…and a bit crazy I guess…but she's really sweet and funny…she also seemed to like me"

"Really? That's great, man. It was about time you found someone you really like"

"Yeah…I actually think I could fall for her. I mean I know I just met her, but …"

"But she is really great…" Lucas teased him.

"Well, she is!"

"Ok man…again I'm happy for you. I actually believe Peyton had exactly this idea in her mind"

"Yeah… she seemed to be excited about it"

"So did you make any plans for today?"

"Uh, not really. Peyton and Brooke said they would go shopping this morning and they weren't sure what time they would be back. So she will call when they're back so we can make plans for tonight"

"Tonight? What are they gonna spend the entire day at the mall?"

"I have no idea, man. That's what she told me."

"Well, ok…I guess we'll have to wait for her call. Now, tell me more about this Brooke. What did Hales and Jake think about her?"

Nathan was just about to reply when the side door opened to reveal a grinning Haley James.

"Well, good morning you sleepy-heads!"

"Sleepy heads? We've been up since 7, Hales" Nathan retorted.

"I was actually up even earlier"

"You were? I called you an hour ago Luke, and your cell was off"

"Shit…I must have forgotten to turn it on when I got up"

"Yeah…and that was not the only thing you forgot this morning" Nathan said teasingly.

"Nathan!" Luke cut him off.

Nathan sent an apologetic glance towards his brother.

"Erm? What else did you forget?"

"I forgot to come for the morning run…I was at the rivercourt and kind of lost track of time"

"You went to the rivercourt?"

"Yeah…I couldn't sleep and I got up early."

"Oh…you boys and that game of yours. When you're playing or watching is like nothing else matters!"

"Yeah…blame it on the game, Luke" Nathan chuckled.

"Erm?" Haley asked confused.

"Nothing Hales, Nathan is just being an ass. So what brings you here this morning?" Lucas said while sending another warning look at Nathan.

"I got bored…I didn't know what to do and I thought I would come see my best buddies"

"How come you didn't go with Pey and Brooke to the mall? Nate told me they were going shopping today" Lucas asked.

"Me? Going shopping with that airhead?! Please! I would prefer having needles stuck in my eyes!"

"Airhead? You're talking about Brooke?"

"Didn't Nate tell you about her?" Hales asked looking pointedly at Nathan.

"He did tell me some things about her…but airhead was definitely not one of them!" Lucas said looking in confusion between his brother and his friend.

"Hey, I happened to like the girl!" Nathan protested.

"Well of course you would! She's Rachel's clone! Or maybe worse than her if that's even possible!"

"Really?" Lucas said surprised.

"Come on Hales, don't you think you're being a little harsh on her?" Nathan tried.

"Nate…unlike you, I do not get impressed by a pair of long legs and a D-cup size!"

Lucas chuckled.

"You should have seen her, Luke. She looks like a damn doll and she acts like she owns the world!" Haley continued.

"You're only mad because you think she made a move on Jake"

"She did what?" Lucas asked shocked.

"Well, shouldn't I be?"

"She was just being friendly, Hales"

"Yeah…very friendly indeed!"

"Come on Hales, I mean Peyton would never befriend a girl like that" Lucas defended.

"Honestly Luke? I don't know why the hell Peyton thinks so highly of her! She was all over _both_ Jake and Nate and she looked at me like I was trash!"

"Hales…" Nathan sighed.

"No, she really did! Urgh…who does she thinks she is, anyway?"

"Man…was she really like that?" Lucas asked confused.

"Hales, give her a chance. Maybe she was just nervous, I mean she is moving to a new school at her senior year, perhaps she was just trying to fit in."

"Don't take my word for it, Luke. You'll meet her soon enough and you'll see for yourself!" Haley huffed.


	7. The Big Night Out

**_AN:_** I won't get tired of saying it, your comments are making me so happy! I never expected such a response for this story. Thank you guys, you're all amazing!

Brooke's and Lucas thoughts are in italics at some points, I hope it is clear who's doing the thinking each time! lol

On with the chapter...I hope you'll enjoy:D

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

_**The Big Night Out**_

It had been a long day for Peyton. It was not only that they had spend their entire day at the mall, or that Brooke wanted to check out almost every single store since she had been away for so long and try out a dozen of outfits in each of them, or even that she kept talking non-stop about that mystery guy she had met or about Nathan, or about what she was going to do at school on Monday…to top it all they were now getting ready for a night out at Tric's. Which idiot came up with this idea anyway? Argh…she had made the mistake of mentioning Tric today and Brooke remembered just how much she wanted to go there since she heard it opened…so Peyton had no chance but to offer. She had called Luke hoping that he would find some excuse and they would have to cancel, Luke would certainly not be too keen on the idea, especially today since from what he told her when they briefly talked earlier that afternoon, he had somehow pissed off Dan again and he had spent a good two hours at their house's gym with him watching him like a hawk. But to her bad luck, Nathan was the one that answered the phone while Luke was outside fixing something at his car and of course he jumped at the idea. Nathan had also been somehow able to convince Lucas…and Lucas was appointed the task of convincing Haley who as Peyton guessed was probably not looking forward to another meeting with Brooke. Jake posed no problem. So after a lot of talking and pleading, some excitement and some whining everybody agreed to go. And here she was sitting on Brooke's bed as she kept going in and out of the bathroom parading with the different outfits she had picked up today.

Brooke was nervous…again! Since this morning she just didn't feel like herself. So she was about to go out with Peyton's friends. Nathan included. Ok…so what? It was clear that he was so into her…but somehow she still didn't feel confident enough. It was also that she was going to finally meet the famous Lucas Scott. The bookworm basketball star that Peyton had fallen for. Oh, she could deny it all she wanted to but Brooke could tell, that guy was really special to her friend. And Brooke really wanted to get along with him…otherwise things would get really weird. Not to stop the list of things that made her nervous tonight she was going to be hanging out with that adorable _Hales_ again! She just had to stay clear from her and her poor boyfriend. Honestly what was a guy like Jake doing with …urgh…a geek like that? Now, there was always the chance that she could also meet other people from school there. Maybe Bev and Theresa? Now that would be great…or Rachel? Not so great. Last…ok…she had to admit that was what made her really really nervous and hopeful at the same time…she just might run into Broody again! Ok…it might not be that possible…but it wasn't impossible right? So Brooke had to look her best…she had to be flawless tonight…to make Nathan sweat…to impress Lucas…to get in the eye of Haley…to scare Rachel and of course…for Broody!

* * *

At the Scott's house the boys were getting ready as well. Lucas was certainly not in the mood for a night out, Dan had really gone overboard again and it didn't help things that he was already exhausted from the morning's _games._ But he sucked it all up and concluded that a fun morning with a very beautiful girl was after all worth Dan's fury and insults. Still he just looked forward to crashing early to bed…but Nathan's whining and pleading made him agree to going out. He had to admit he was also looking forward to meeting that Brooke girl. After spending most of the morning hearing Nathan talk about the most amazing girl ever…and Haley bitching about her constantly…Lucas was really curious about this girl. What made him the most curious was how so unlike themselves both Nathan and Haley were acting. Nathan was practically gashing over her! Ok…Nathan had been with many girls…too many in Luke's opinion, but he had never seen his brother so impressed with one. And Hales? Hales was like the sweetest girl ever. So ok…she hated most of the cheer-sluts as she called most of the cheerleaders, but she was always willing to give them a chance. She did it for Peyton when they started going out and she even did it for Rachel when she was with Nate. So what was it about this Brooke that turned everything upside down? Convincing Haley to go out tonight had been a nightmare. Why did he volunteer to do it? It must have had something to do with Nathan's pleading again…or maybe it was his threatening of telling Haley about the mysterious stranger Luke had met that did the trick. Haley would probably freak out, not that she would tell Peyton anything but he would have to explain, and Luke was not keen on the idea of trying once again to explain how it was just fun. After all he had a hard enough time convincing himself. The guilt had eventually set in…and though he knew that he didn't actually do anything wrong, the way he was constantly thinking about her was certainly not right. Was there any chance he would see her tonight? Nah…it was a long shot…she was new so she would probably have no friends to go out with, maybe he should have asked her to come with them. Hm…yeah Cheery along with his friends and girlfriend…that would have gone smoothly…what the hell was he thinking? 

Nathan was excited for the upcoming night out. He really wanted to see Brooke again and spend more time with her. And perhaps they could also take things a bit further…Brooke sure wasn't the shy type. She was bold and probably quite experienced. And it was also the fact that they would be going out with two couples leaving them the only two people available. So maybe they could end the night as something more than friends. And no he didn't intend to bang her as he had already assured Haley a thousand times today. What was her problem again? She kept saying that he should take things slowly and that he shouldn't trust the flimsy girl. Nathan wasn't one to take things slowly, he hadn't even dated again after Rachel. Why bother? He had any girl he wanted in his bed with a wink of an eye. But he got the impression that Brooke would not fall that easily and to be honest that was one of the reasons he was so impressed with her. She seemed to be used to have boys falling at her feet with one glance too, and making her fall for him would definitely be a challenge, a challenge he had missed since he was trying to get with Rachel and that wasn't much of a challenge either, she was just playing hard to get while she was dying to get in bed with him, albeit she had her own reasons for that and they weren't that she was in love with him for sure. But put aside the challenge and how hot Brooke was, he had to admit there was more to why he liked her. He just felt good around her, she was funny, she was quick-witted and she matched his arrogance. Nathan told Haley that he was not going to get with Brooke tonight not because he thought that he couldn't, but because he actually wanted more with her.

* * *

Haley got off the phone with Mouth contented. If she was to spend an entire evening with that Barbie-doll she could use all the moral support she could get. She was still a bit upset with Jake. Now why men turned into complete idiots the moment a pretty face smiled their way? It's not like she was really jealous. She wasn't. No. She knew Jake loved her and would never do something that stupid. It was just that she was annoyed that he seemed to enjoy the airhead's compliments so much and he went along with everything she said. Just like Nathan did. Seriously she expected more from Nate. But on the other hand he always had an eye for stupid sluts…take Rachel for example. Honestly, Haley would prefer to see him sleeping around like he did the last few months than get seriously involved with a slut like Brooke, hell she would even prefer to see him back with Rachel again. Why couldn't he like a normal girl that would actually care for him and not use him, like Brooke was bound to and Rachel already had. At least with Rachel, he was just using her too. But not, Brooke. She had noticed the way he looked at her. She never saw him look at anyone else like that and that really bothered her. He was really taken by her. Urgh…that girl was definitely a pro! She had both Nathan and Jake exactly where she wanted them. So Haley needed more people at her side. Lucas was bound to see through the bimpo's act. For that she was sure and she couldn't wait until someone finally agreed with her. But he wouldn't be able to do anything for fear of hurting Peyton. So she resorted in calling Mouth for backup. God…this was going to be a long night!

* * *

Jake was driving to Haley's house feeling somewhat uneasy. The aftershocks of Brooke's arrival still fresh in his mind. Things had certainly started ugly and he had a feeling they were just about to much get uglier. It's not like he didn't expect it though. As soon as Peyton had announced that Brooke Davis was coming back, Jake knew that they were all in for a bumpy ride. Peyton knew it as well, he had sensed her nervousness, but all the rest were completely oblivious. Of course nobody else knew Brooke Davis. But he did. He remembered all too well how the beautiful brunette passed him by in the hallways ignoring him completely while they shared most of their classes. He remembered how she made every guy's head turn when she sauntered over throwing flirty glances towards a few selected ones that almost did flip-flops from excitement. He also remembered the rumors he had heard about her and her bitchy behavior. He finally remembered Peyton being always next to her, though always acting somewhat more reserved, but mostly just following her lead. He was certain that Hales would hate her on sight and he was proven right. He was also positive that Nathan would be attracted to her and he was right again. Lucas would probably side with Hales, but he also had Peyton to consider. Jake sure as hell wouldn't like to be in his position right now. Not that his position was better. Hales was pissed and he still had to deal with her wrath. So he agreed to this night out promising to himself that he would be extra-careful about whatever he said or did around Brooke.

* * *

Nathan and Lucas were the first ones to arrive at Tric. They had originally planned to go pick the girls up from Brooke's home but at the last minute Peyton called them to say that they were going to run a little late because of a hair emergency…and they'd better head off first so that Jake and Haley wouldn't have to wait alone. They got settled at a corner table and Jake, Haley and surprisingly Mouth joined them shortly after. Soon after they all sat and ordered some beverages the dreaded question of where Peyton and Brooke were came from Haley. 

"Urm…they're gonna be a little late" Lucas said afraid to give Haley another chance to start bad-mouthing Peyton's best friend again.

"Really? Why am I not surprised? That girl just wants to be the centre of attention all the time. I'm positive she planned this out so she could make a great entrance as she thinks"

So much for not giving her that opportunity…Lucas thought disheartened.

"Hales…" Jake pleaded.

"What?" Haley asked irritated.

"God, Hales! Just don't start again! We had enough of this in the morning" Nathan also said.

"What's going on?" Asked an ignorant Mouth.

"Nothing Mouth, apparently Peyton's friend didn't make such a good impression on Hales" Lucas explained.

"Who is she anyway? Haley you just told me Peyton had a new friend with her. You didn't tell me where she came from. Where did Peyton meet her?"

"Oh…she had known her for years, hey Mouth, you should remember her too. Jake certainly did" Haley said sarcastically.

Jake sighed shaking his head.

"Really? How could I know her? Who is she?"

"Her name is Brooke. Brooke Davis"

Mouth almost chocked with his drink.

"Brooke? The Brooke Davis? She's really back?"

"See! He remembers her too!" Said Jake feeling a bit relieved.

Haley didn't seem very impressed while Nathan and Lucas laughed with Mouth's shocked face and Jake's outburst.

"Of course, I remember her. Who doesn't?" Mouth continued only to cause more laughter to Nathan and Lucas.

"So did you actually know her or did you just drool over her like Jake did?" Haley insisted.

"Hales please…" Jake protested again while Mouth had turned slightly red.

"I did …but…then we …urm…she made new friends at junior high I guess"

"So you were friends and then she got popular in junior high and ignored you…see guys what did I tell you?" Haley said turning towards the other three.

"Come on Hales…we all made new friends as we grew up" Nathan interjected.

"Uh…I can't believe you're still defending her! Of course we made new friends Nathan but that doesn't mean we forgot about the old ones! Look at me and Luke we've been friends for ever!"

"I don't understand what you've got against her!" Nathan said intensely.

"Luke, say something" Both Haley and Nathan said turning to Luke and looking at him expectantly"

"Whoaa-don't get me in the middle of this! I haven't even met the girl!" Lucas said raising his hands defensively.

Both Haley and Nathan looked at each other angry and were about to continue with their argument but Jake was able to catch them just in time by asking something about the song that was now playing. Haley turned her attention to him and Nathan started grilling Mouth about more information on his friendship with Brooke.

Lucas laid back in his chair relaxing. This had gone on all morning, Haley and Nathan practically fighting over that Brooke girl. He felt tired and he was starting to already dislike her and not because of the things Haley said…though he had to admit she didn't sound half as perfect as Peyton and Nathan had portrayed her. What made him dislike her before even meeting her was all the trouble she had already caused hardly being there for a day. He was now observing Nathan and Mouth talking about her and he could see Mouth blush and fidget in his seat as he talked. Apparently Hales was right, this girl had put a spell on every guy she had met so far, even Mouth! Well, thankfully he was not one to fall for the tricks this girl certainly used. She could be nothing like his Cheery. Now she was truly something else. Oh boy, was he in trouble! Did he just thought of her as _his_ Cheery? And shouldn't he be comparing this new girl with his wonderful girlfriend Peyton and not a tempting stranger he just met this morning? Well…it was the first time in his life that Lucas realized he understood when someone said that they really needed a drink…Since that was not an option at an all-age club that was owned by his step-mom, he opted for walking to the bar for a cold refreshment. He needed to get rid of that kind of thoughts before Peyton got there.

* * *

"Hm…ok, I expected it to be smaller, not bad for Tree Hill, Blondie, not bad at all" Brooke said as her and Peyton walked into Tric. 

"It's nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah…and it has a lot of… Bev?!!!!" Brooke shrieked.

"OMG! Brooke Davis!"

The two girls practically jumped in each others arms.

"What are you doing here, Brooke?!"

"I'm back!"

"Back?!"

"Yes! I moved back to Tree Hill!"

"No way!!!"

"Yes way!" Brooke screeched again jumping up and down.

"OMG! Peyton, why didn't you say anything?! When did you come back? Wait, we have to find Theresa she has to see you otherwise she won't believe you're here!"

"T's here?"

"Of course, she is! We are here every night, that is, when there is no cool party around…now where did I leave Theresa? Oh yes, come this way!"

"Urm, Pey…?" Brooke turned to Peyton as Bevin was already dragging her to the back of the club.

"Sure, go ahead. I'll go find the others and you can come find us when you're done" Peyton shrugged.

"Ok…if you don't want to come too?" Brooke suggested.

"No, no…just go. I'll go find the gang"

"Ok, Goldilocks, tell Nate I'll be there in five" Brooke said winking.

"Nate? OMG Brooke! You met Nathan? Isn't he hot?" Bevin started as she continued pulling Brooke through the crowded club.

"He is, isn't he? And I tell you Bev, he certainly has the hots for me!"

"Really? WOW!!! Wait until Rachel finds out!"

"I know! I can't believe she's your captain at the squad!"

The two girls went chatting and squealing all the way to where they found Theresa only for her to join them equally excited.

* * *

They were all in a middle of a vivid conversation when Brooke spotted a familiar figure making his way among the dancing crowd. She broke into the widest smile before turning to her two friends and hastily excusing herself after promising to be back later after she had said her hellos to Peyton's friends. 

She quickly left them and started following him, a difficult task through the pressed up bodies that covered the dance floor. But Brooke was obviously better at this than him cause she quickly caught up with him and tapped on his shoulder.

"Well, well, long time no see, Broody" She said as he turned to look at her.

Lucas's face lit up and his mouth hung slightly open. The girl he hadn't stopped thinking about was standing in front of him. If he thought she looked pretty this morning, right now she was absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a denim mini skirt and a black halter top with a low-cut neckline that was bound to make every guy in the room notice her, without revealing too much. She now had her hair down and they reached her shoulders in loose curls. She also had more make up on; he was particularly enticed by the shining gloss on her lips.

"Cheery! What a surprise!" He finally exclaimed.

"A pleasant one I presume?" Brooke smirked not missing his gapping over her appearance.

"Definitely!" He agreed as he grinned widely. _Pleasant didn't even begin to cover it._

They were standing in the middle of the dance floor grinning at each other while being pushed by the people dancing around them or trying to get through. Brooke said something but the music was too loud for him to here.

"Come here" Lucas said as he grabbed her arm and led her to a dark corner which was at least less crowded and more distant from the speakers.

"Much better!" Brooke affirmed.

"Yeah…at least here I can hear you. So, I didn't expect to see you again so soon"

"Me neither, I thought I would have to wait until Monday"

"Hm…does this mean that you were anxious to see me again, Cheery?" Lucas said raising an eyebrow.

"Why, you weren't?" Brooke asked biting her lip.

"Honestly…yeah…yeah, I was!" Lucas agreed laughing.

"That's what I thought" Brooke giggled. _Take that Blondie…who is insecure now?_

"My, my…aren't we presumptuous" Lucas teased.

"A girl can tell such things" She said with authority.

"She can, huh? What can you tell about me then Cheery?"

"I can tell that you have never seen a girl as hot as me before, that you haven't stopped thinking about me all day long, and that you were dying to see me again"

_True, true and absolutely tr__ue. Let's just laugh it off now_.

"Whoa…you're a mind reader!" He continued teasingly.

"Told you so"

"So what about you then?" He asked.

"What about me?"

"Well, you already admitted that you couldn't wait to see me again…" Lucas trailed off.

"I did not say that" Brooke whined.

"Yeah…yeah you did Cheery…so what else?"

"But Broody…if you can't figure it out for yourself…why would I tell?"

"I can try…"

"Go ahead" Brooke said tilting her head to the side waiting to hear what he would come up with.

"So…you have never met someone smarter or hotter than me…" Lucas began assuming a serious expression.

"Ha…"

"I'm talking here, Cheery! So…where was I …oh yes…no one hotter than me…and you spend the whole day thinking about me and of course you were dying to see me again!"

Brooke broke into an uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh my God, you're even worse than me!"

"I am?"

"You also said smart…" She said never stop laughing.

"Oh yes…and how could I forget… Also add best basketball player you have ever seen" Lucas continued faking a smug expression.

"Oh, shut up, Broody!" Brooke said as she playfully pushed him causing both of them to break into laughter once again.

"So you're here with your friend?" Lucas asked after he stopped laughing.

"Yes, and my friend's friends"

"I see."

"What about you?"

"Yeah…I'm here with friends too" _And my girlfriend…_

"Shit! I haven't even gone to say hi yet"

"You lost me…" He said confused.

"I came a bit late…and then I saw some other people I know…and then I saw you…"

"You want us to go there?" _No! Say No! God I'm stupid! What if they know me? That would go down well…hey Luke…where is Peyton…the first damn question everybody asks me, why do people assume we can't go anywhere on our own?_

"No…that's all right, they can wait a bit longer" _Are you crazy? Nathan is there….no, no, no! Hey, Nate…this is the gorgeous boy I just met this morning…but don't worry…I still like you as well…and no Haley that doesn't automatically make me a whore!_

"Good, so you can stay with me for a while, then" Lucas grinned.

"Won't your friends miss you?" Brooke asked all happy inside that he wanted to spend some time with her.

"I think they can also manage by themselves for a while"

Brooke beamed at him. _God she was beautiful._

"So how did it go with your dad this morning?"

"Let's just say he wasn't happy I missed our morning run"

"Well, you must have gotten off easy to be out the same night"

"My brother convinced him"

"Still…he couldn't be too angry since he let you, or is your brother that good with him?"

"Erm…you could say he is the favorite one…"

"He's older?"

"Actually, a little younger." _Let's not get into details with that…_

"Does he play basketball as well?"

"Yeah…he's very good at it, too"

"So, you, your brother and your father! What the whole family is good at the game? Do you have any sisters good at it too? What about your mom?"

"No, no sisters. And no my mother doesn't play!" Lucas said laughing again.

"Thank God!"

"Come on, Cheery, it isn't that bad. Admit you had fun this morning"

_Of course I did! I was with you!_

"Now if I was to admit that, you might want me to try it again. And believe me that's not going to happen"

"I know you had fun, Cheery. You can deny it all you want but I know you liked the game"

"Not my type of game, Broody"

"Hm…and what type of games do you like?" He asked giving her a lop-sided grin.

"Well, maybe someday I can show you…" Brooke said mischievously as she run her finger over his chest. "It's only fair...since you've already showed me your favorite game"

"I think I'd like that" Lucas said hoarsely feeling his heart beating rapidly.

"Oh, I know you will." She concluded letting her hand rest on his torso.

Lucas felt his skin burn under her touch. They were standing rather closely so they could hear each other through the loud music. The tension was evident between them and all kind of thoughts that included her pressed up the club's wall and him kissing her till she was out of breath entered his mind. She was looking at him straight in the eyes, with a mixture of what he could only read as desire and anticipation. The silence wasn't helping and he felt like he couldn't take it much longer. Just as he caught himself attempting to lean even closer to her, he stopped and desperately looked for a distraction.

"So how do you like the club so far?" He said with a small smile.

"It's pretty good actually. I didn't expect something like this in Tree Hill" Brooke replied removing her hand off him. _Urgh! He was about to kiss her, wasn't he? Why didn't he?_ _Maybe she should just do it herself… _But the moment was ruined, so she decided on concentrating on their talk, _for now_.

"Hey, it may be a small town but it's not that bad"

"I know that, Broody. But compared to the clubs at LA, it's rather small I guess."

"You are from LA?" Lucas asked a bit surprised. _It was just a coincidence right? It couldn't be…_

"No, I just lived there the last three years" Brooke answered.

"Where are you from, then?" _Had Peyton said her friend moved away three years ago?_

"Didn't I tell you I wasn't new here? Well, actually I am from Tree Hill. We moved away because of my father's business."

Lucas felt his heart drop.

"How come you decided to return?" He asked hesitantly.

"Urgh…my parents got a divorce. I really don't want to talk about that, now." Brooke answered oblivious to what her answer had done to Lucas.

He felt all the color drain from his face. _It wasn't a coincidence. It was too much, all the pieces fit._

"No…" Was all that he managed to say.

"No? What do you mean no? Are you okay, Broody?" Brooke asked worried noticing the serious look in his eyes.

"Not really" Lucas responded shaking his head.

"What's wrong?"

"How long have you been here?" He was now grasping at straws. But maybe he was wrong; maybe it was just a really weird coincidence.

"Actually I just arrived yesterday."

Lucas had by now turned completely pale.

"Broody, what's up? You're being weird!" Brooke exclaimed.

"So…you came here with your friend, Blondie…and her friends" He stated as quietly as the music allowed so he could be heard.

"Didn't I tell you that already?" Brooke asked getting impatient.

"You said you were a little late…so you came here after them?"

"I don't get it. What's this the twenty questions? Me and Blondie arrived late and she went to find the guys. To be honest I think she just missed her boyfriend, she didn't see him at all yesterday. " Brooke said feeling a bit uneasy. _What was wrong with him, he was just fine a few minutes ago._

"Her boyfriend." Lucas repeated looking at the floor.

"Yes…his mom actually owns the club."

"Step-mom" He corrected still looking down.

"Oh, yeah, step-mom. Wait a minute how do you…?" Brooke started saying utterly confused.

"Brooke, right?" He said finally raising his head to look at her with sad eyes.

"How did you….You know Peyton, right? She told you about me? Are you friends?" Brooke asked starting to get a sinking feeling within her but trying to make sense of the weird situation.

"I'm…I'm…" Lucas stuttered. He just couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Hey Luke! What's up man?" A boy passing by yelled catching both their attention.

Brooke turned abruptly and looked at the other guy in shock. She quickly turned back to face Lucas. The look on his face was all the confirmation she needed.

"Skillz" Lucas said nodding to the guy's direction and then turning back to Brooke. The grim expression in his face making Skillz to change his way and move hastily away from them.

"No… no...It can't be!" Brooke said covering her mouth with her hand. "You're… Lucas?!"


	8. What’s the Big Deal?

_**Chapter 8**_

_**What's the Big Deal?**_

They were standing in the dark corner staring at each other not uttering a single word for what seemed like hours to Lucas. He was trying to gauge her reaction but her eyes were blank not giving away anything. And then of all the sudden, she threw her head back and broke out into uncontrollable laughter.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He anticipated a lot of reactions, some yelling, some name calling, maybe her walking away from him and running straight to Peyton. But laughing?

"You think this is funny?" He asked squinting his eyes in confusion.

"Of course! Don't you?" Brooke said between her laughter.

"No, I really can't see what's so funny about it"

"Oh, come on! I mean think of the chances of this happening!" Brooke insisted as she calmed her laughter a bit.

He kept observing her. She was laughing but it was something amiss there. The sparkle in her eyes was sure missing, it was not like before when the sound of her laughter made him smile as well. This time he just felt like shaking her to her senses.

"Slim" He agreed reluctantly.

"Try close to none! I can't believe it; see Tree Hill is so small!" She continued laughing again.

"I still can't see what's so damn funny about this." He said annoyed.

"Well, I do" Brooke said abruptly.

"Look, I'm sorry that…" He tried with a sigh.

"What do you have to be sorry about?" Brooke interrupted.

"Well…for…you know…I mean if I knew that you were…I wouldn't…" Lucas tried hardly making any sense to himself at this point.

"You wouldn't play basketball with me?" Brooke asked with a smile.

"No, it's not that. But I wouldn't have…you know what I mean, don't you?" He said in frustration.

"It's okay, Br…Lucas. Don't take everything so seriously" She replied with a forced smile.

Lucas flinched. He heard her beginning to say Broody and then she called him Lucas. Somehow his name never sounded worse to him.

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

"I mean, what's the big deal? Okay, we met by accident and had some fun together, if anything that should make Peyton happy"

"Happy?!" He yelled incredulously.

"She wanted us to like each other, and we did get along together, didn't we?"

"That's all?" He asked again.

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked deciding to play dumb.

"We got along…we just had some fun? That's it?"

"What else?" She asked shrugging.

"Nothing, nothing else" He conceded quietly.

"Don't worry; I won't say anything to Peyton." Brooke said.

"You won't say anything, what do you mean?" He asked confused again.

"I think it would be for the best if we didn't tell her how we met." She answered calmly.

"You wanna us to lie?" He asked in disbelief.

"Just a little white lie. Just to avoid a misunderstanding and all of that weird explaining. I don't think it's such a big deal"

"Why?" He asked again coldly.

"Why what?"

"Why should we lie if we did nothing wrong?"

"Because…" Brooke sighed. "Because I kind of mentioned to her that I met a guy today"

"So what? You told her you met a guy and you two had some fun together. Like you said she should be happy that this guy was me and we got along well" Lucas said with a challenging look.

Why was he making everything so damn difficult?

"Yes…but I kinda also said that maybe we flirted a bit. And you and I both know that it meant _nothing_" Brooke stressed the last word looking at him intensely "but she might get the wrong idea and I don't want things to be weird between us" She concluded.

"So we're just gonna lie?" He asked again.

"I didn't see you have such a problem with lying when you forgot to mention that you had a girlfriend!" Brooke huffed angrily.

He looked at her with guilt.

"It didn't come up" He said barely audible through the loud music.

"Well, let's try this then. Our meeting won't come up either" She said sarcastically.

"You say it's not a big deal, you say it was just fun, but now you're angry because I didn't tell you I had a girlfriend" He told her looking straight at her eyes.

"You don't have _a_ girlfriend, you have Peyton! My Peyton, okay?" She almost yelled at him.

"Still…it shouldn't matter, not if it was just harmless _fun_" He spat the last word out.

"Believe me, I wouldn't care if it was any one else. But Peyton? I would never hurt her, not…"

"But…why would she be hurt?"

"Urgh! Because even if it was stupid, even if it meant nothing to us, we did flirt! I know I wouldn't want my boyfriend to flirt with another girl even if it was just for fun!"

"I'm sorry"

"If you need to apologize to someone that someone is Peyton, not me. But I'm cutting you a break here and you're not taking it!" She yelled with frustration raising her hands up. "How do you think she's gonna feel if she finds out? Even if we explain, even if she believes us, she's gonna be hurt! So let's just avoid all this mess, why shouldn't we?"

"Okay…" He said quietly.

"Okay…" Brooke sighed, "So you go find them and I'll join you in a while, and we can let Peyton introduce us"

"Fine" Lucas nodded dismissively.

She was about to leave when he called for her.

"Wait Cheery, I didn't…"

"My name is Brooke." Brooke cut him off. "Now that you know it, I suggest you use it"

He was taken aback by her harsh tone but continued anyway.

"For what it's worth…I am sorry, I never flirted before with another girl like this, I'm not like that. I don't know why I did it with you but please know I've never done something like that before" He said looking at her pleadingly.

"I have" Brooke replied harshly while she quickly turned and left him standing to watch her retreating form for the second time that day, this time however there was no smile playing at his lips.

* * *

She pushed her way through the crowd and found herself in the girls' toilets. She leaned against the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. The tears had already started to flow. She was thankful it had lasted that long. It was times when he was looking at her with his eyes looking so sad that she thought she would lose it. But thankfully she was able to pull it off, as convincingly as she could, his expression at the end told her it was convincing enough. 

When she realized what was happening…when that guy called him and she turned to look at him…that moment was still a blur for her. She remembered herself standing there trying to grasp the meaning in all of this. It was a joke right? A cruel joke…It couldn't really be happening could it? It reminded her of the time when her father told her they had to leave Tree Hill three years ago. Or when her mother told them she was leaving them, a couple of months ago. She hadn't done anything to cause those things but they still happened. They weren't her fault; she had spent countless nights trying to convince herself of that. That she had could have done nothing to prevent them. She just stood there helpless and watched them happen, just like now. Everything seemed great a few minutes ago, she was with a boy she really really liked, and that seemed to like her too, and then just like that everything got turned upside down. Brooke didn't know how she was feeling and she didn't even know how she was supposed to feel. So she stood there staring at him speechless, speechless and numb.

Anger. That was the first feeling that had registered. She was angry with herself. Why didn't she get his name when they met? Her and her stupid obsession with nicknames. He said he was in the basketball team, he was blonde…the troubled relationship with his father…how could she be so stupid not to realize it sooner? She was also angry with him. Why couldn't he have stayed at the café when she went there to meet him? Peyton would have introduced him as her boyfriend and then nothing would have happened. She would be with Nathan right now having a good time, they wouldn't be in this mess. And what about Peyton? Was it so hard for her to have a photograph of him somewhere? She hadn't even showed her a damn sketch and she was certain her room would be full of those.

Self-pity. That was what followed soon after. When she realized that whatever she wanted or hoped to happen with Broody was not going to. Because here in front of her she didn't have Broody anymore, she had Lucas, Peyton's Lucas. This was not fair, this wasn't supposed to happen this way, she wasn't supposed to get a crush as Peyton had so eloquently phrased on her best friend's boyfriend. Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to look at her that way that made her want to drown in his eyes? Why did his arms have to feel so good?

Frustration. She felt like screaming, like breaking something…anything to prevent the tears that she felt coming. What was he thinking anyway? He kept looking at her with those sad eyes saying nothing and she didn't know what to do. They had brought themselves into this mess that sadly involved more people than just the two of them. The only thing they could do was forget whatever had happened. She had tried to reason with herself, okay so they flirted a bit before so what? Just some innocent flirting, right? No harm done. So why did she felt like crying at that moment? But Brooke wouldn't cry. She couldn't let him see what this was doing to her. So after silently thanking her mother for teaching her the art of lying, she started putting on one of her best performances.

And she was doing a pretty good job with it, but the damn idiot had to push and push! Why couldn't he take what she was giving him? She was offering him a way out of the horrible mess and he seemed to be sad and even angry about it. What the hell did he expect her to do anyway? She kept saying that their meeting meant nothing to her, how it was just for fun…and she could see his hurt and shocked face and it was killing her. Could it really have meant that much to him as it did to her? She hoped not…because if it did, then she really had no idea where they could go from here. If she had one wish that would be to never see him again, to forget about him to write him off for the jerk that he was.

Oh, yes he was a jerk! A big one. The fact that he had a girlfriend didn't come up? What a jerk! If the whole thing did have some significance to him he should have said something, and if it was just for fun, which was the most likely explanation then why did he look so hurt when she said the same thing about herself? Maybe she should just tell Peyton. Maybe she didn't deserve to be with that jerk. Not if he did this type of things often. She knew she wouldn't though. Maybe because she believed it was harmless fun for him, after all they really didn't do anything wrong. They almost did…she was sure he wanted to kiss her…but bottom line: _he didn't_. So maybe he wasn't such a jerk after all. Or it was maybe that she truly believed what he said at the end…that he had never done something like this before. He sounded honest…she believed him because she had never done something like it before. No she didn't lie when she said that she had, she had flirted with countless guys just for fun, without caring if they had girlfriends or not, but she never felt for any of them what she was feeling for him. But again…she would never let him see that.

She let herself cry in the toilets for a while, earning some curious glances from a couple of girls that got in there. She didn't care; she had put up the fake smile so long for his sake that she couldn't hold it any more. She had to let it out, because she had to be ready for the rest of this dreadful night. The lies had just begun and now she had another performance to give and this one would be much more difficult. She had to lie to Peyton. The one person that was always able to see through her façade. Well, this time she wouldn't. No matter what it took, Peyton couldn't know what had just happened. So after letting herself cry a little more, she threw some cold water to her face and started reapplying her make up. She was a pro at covering her puffy eyes…years of practice were paying through. She finished and looked at her reflection for one more time. Perfect as usual. Not a trace of her former state. Taking a deep breath she exited the bathroom. It was show time… again…!

* * *

Lucas didn't move from his spot even after she had disappeared into the crowded club. Too many thoughts and feelings running through his head preventing him from making sense of anything anymore. He remembered her face when she too understood what was going on. She looked shell-shocked and hurt. Exactly like he himself was feeling. She was probably just trying to realize what had happened. How the hell had this happened, anyway? How did they get themselves into this mess? How could he be so stupid? Why didn't he realize it sooner? He kept replaying in his mind every minute of their time together, every word she had said. She had said she wasn't new there, why hadn't he questioned her further? If he had she would have said she lived here before like she did just now. She also talked about her best friend, Blondie, that slept at her house the previous day… Peyton stayed at her friend's house the previous night, Peyton was blonde, how could he have missed the connection? Everything seemed painfully obvious right now and he felt so stupid for not realizing it sooner, if he had things would not be this way right now. 

He couldn't believe his luck. The one time he actually got attracted by a girl besides his girlfriend and it had to be her best friend, the one she had confessed she considered practically as a sister. Why did it have to be her? The one girl that made him forget about everything else with just her smile. The one that sent shivers down his spine just with her raspy voice. The one girl that with only minutes of knowing her, he couldn't get out of his head.

And then she started laughing. He was confused enough as it was without trying to figure out what she was thinking. What on earth could have made her laugh in this situation that made him want to hit his head against the wall? And the answer came. It had been just fun for her. Simple as that. What he had told Nathan this morning though he didn't believe it at all himself, apparently was what applied to her. He had been right all along. They had just had a good time. What was the big deal, right? He should have been happy, really happy, but he was nothing but.

Hearing her say that it all meant nothing hurt. It hurt too much. Then Haley's words came to his mind. All the things she had described about Brooke's provocative and flirty behavior. Brooke Davis liked to play games and apparently she was too good at it. So she played with him, just like she played with Jake and Nathan.

Nathan. Cheery, his Cheery was the girl Nathan couldn't stop talking about. The girl that had impressed him so much, the one he felt he could really fall for. Great. As if being his girlfriend's best friend wasn't enough she also had to be the girl that his brother liked. And that liked him back. Isn't that what Nathan had said? But that was what he himself thought before she threw at his face how he had obviously misunderstood everything. Who the hell did she think she was playing with all of them like that?

Before he was able to process the anger she had provoked she dropped the second bomb. _Let's keep it a secret._ _Let's lie_. Now he should have been relieved that Brooke didn't think that he had done something wrong. Or so she said. But he didn't. He should be thankful that this wasn't to cause any problems between him and his girlfriend. That neither Peyton nor Nathan would become aware of this weird mess. The thing was at this point he didn't really care. All he cared about was how little Brooke seemed to think of what they had shared this morning.

So instead of grabbing the chance she gave him he started pushing her for an explanation. And she cracked. He actually felt relieved when she started yelling at him, because that meant that all that crap about having fun was just that…crap. But again she was able to provide another explanation. It wasn't that she was angry because he had lied to her…she was angry because he flirted with another girl behind Peyton's back. And it all made sense again. But she made him feel so guilty that for a minute he forgot how angry he was with her, and tried to apologize. And when she told him not to call her Cheery, he was sure she had been lying all along. Her harsh tone, the icy look she gave him, he was sure she was hurting as much as he was. So he tried telling her, telling her that it did mean something to him, that it was different from what he was used to, from what he knew. He opened up to her again only for her to bite back that unlike him she was used to all this, one last time she had made clear that it all meant nothing to her.

Apparently, Brooke Davis was very good at playing these games. Haley was right. He was the fool that allowed her to play with him. The worst thing was that he had just agreed to play another game with her. At least now he knew her ways, and he would be a fool to fall for it again. The only thing was…he doubted it made any difference anymore, it was already too late. The damage was already done, and now he had to face the consequences. Taking a deep breath he started walking towards their table, this was going to be a long night…

* * *

_**AN: **Have I told you how much I love you all for reviewing?? Because I really do! _

_Now I think this story is going to turn out quite long. But I wanted to ask you, do you think that things are progressing too slowly? I have a tendency of repeating myself and I was wondering if you found it is getting tiring or boring at some points. I don't see it that way, but maybe it is, so please tell me how you honestly feel! Thank you again!!! _


	9. Thrilled to Finally Meet You

_**AN: **_Thank you for all your great reviews! I'm so thrilled to know that you like my story! Also thank you to those who answered to my question, so apparently you don't find it too slow…but I'll see if I can put more action in it.

Now I know I'm not updating as much lately and I'm sorry but I'm having a very busy week. Hopefully after the weekend it will get better. So I'm not completely happy with this one, but it will have to do for now. Please read, enjoy and review :D

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Thrilled to Finally Meet You**_

****

"Isn't it about time Brooke got here?" Nathan asked getting impatient.

"Nate…chill, when she's with Bevin and Theresa there's no telling how long she'll be, these three could go on for hours!" Peyton answered with a smile.

"Doesn't she want to see us? Can't she catch up with them later?" He asked again.

This line of questions had been repeated too many times for both Peyton's and Haley's liking.

"Nate!" They both exclaimed.

"Okay…Geez! I was just wondering…"

"She'll be here, Nate…" Peyton sighed.

"Why don't you just go find her and spare us?" Haley proposed sending him an evil glare.

"Do you think she'll mind?" Nathan asked turning to Peyton.

"Mind? Are you kidding? She'll love it. Go!" Peyton said relieved to get rid of him and his constant questions about Brooke.

Nathan seemed to seriously consider it much to Haley's dismay when Skillz approached the table and after greeting everyone took a sit next to Haley. After the interruption Nathan got up.

"Ok, I'm going and I'll see if I can find Luke and send him this way."

"Yeah" Peyton nodded. "Seriously, how long does it take that guy to get a drink?"

Jake, Haley and Mouth laughed. As impatient as Nathan was to see Brooke, Peyton was even more impatient to see Lucas. She had really missed him the last couple of days.

Haley looked at Skillz who seemed a bit uneasy.

"What's up?" she asked him loud enough for only him to hear.

"Urm…nothing." He said shifting in his seat uncomfortably.

"Skillz?" Haley insisted.

"I kinda saw Luke talking with someone"

"So?" Haley asked confused.

"He was talking with a girl, I walked towards them and…they seemed to be in a middle of a very intense conversation"

"A girl? Who?"

"I don't know her, and it was kinda dark…but she did seem somewhat familiar."

"And when you say intense conversation?" Haley asked curious now.

"I don't know…just both their expressions…I felt like I was interrupting"

"Well, what did Luke say, didn't he introduce you to her?"

"I didn't go to talk to them…as soon as I saw that they were talking seriously I left"

Haley nodded intrigued.

"What are you two talking about?" Jake interrupted them.

"Urm…nothing" Haley quickly replied. "Skillz was just telling me about his summer"

"Yeah, Dawg…you should have seen the girls I met at the beach this summer…"

"That's what you were telling Hales?" Jake asked laughing.

Nathan approached the table and stood in front of it with a worried look on his face.

"Where's Brooke? You couldn't drag her away from Bevin?" Peyton asked laughing.

"I didn't find her" Nathan replied.

"They were at the other end of the club Nathan, how could you not find them? This place is not that big!" Peyton said.

"Oh, I did find Bev and Theresa. But Brooke wasn't there."

"She wasn't?" Jake joined the conversation.

"Nope, they told me she left a while ago to come find us" Nathan replied looking more worried.

"Well, she probably ran into someone" Peyton said dismissively. "Don't worry, she'll be here shortly. What about Luke?"

"I couldn't find him either! He wasn't at the bar" Nathan shrugged.

"Who wasn't at the bar?" Lucas asked appearing behind him.

"Hey man, we thought you got lost!" Nathan said turning to face his brother.

"Hey Luke" Peyton called him from her seat.

"Hey baby" Lucas said taking a seat next to her and leaning to give her a haste kiss.

"Where were you?" Peyton asked him.

"Why, you send a search party after me?" Lucas chuckled looking at Nathan.

"No bro…believe me, I didn't go to find your sorry ass"

"No…Natey went to search for Brookie" Peyton said teasingly.

Lucas eyes turned dark but he tried to cover it.

"So where is she anyway? I thought you two were coming together" He said trying to sound casual.

"That's what I'm wondering!" Nathan cut in sitting back next to Mouth. "She was supposed to be with Bevin and Theresa but she left them and hasn't come here yet"

"Oh Nathan stop whining she'll be here soon enough"

"I am not whining! And let's not forget how you were until Luke got here"

Lucas smiled at Peyton.

"I'm sorry baby, I would be back sooner if I knew you got here" He said as he draped his arm around her.

"What took you so long?" Peyton said leaning at his shoulder.

"Urm…I run into some guys from the team" Lucas said scratching his head uncomfortably. He noticed Skillz looking at him curiously but thankfully he didn't say a word. The strange thing was that Hales was also looking at him weirdly.

They all continued talking mostly about their summer vacations; filling Skillz and Mouth in the road trip they had taken. Lucas kept looking through the crowd. She was late. Where the hell had she gone again? She said she would be here just after him. Was she all right? Of course she was. She seemed absolutely fine when she left him. She had no reason not to be, right? She wasn't affected by the whole thing, didn't she make that absolutely clear? She thought it wasn't a big deal. So he shouldn't be worrying about her. And if she wasn't why the hell should he care about it anyway? She probably went back to her friends or maybe she found another poor guy to play with. He scanned the dance floor once more but he couldn't find her. By now he hardly paid any attention to the chit-chat going on at their table and only answered when they asked something directly at him. It wasn't that he was worried about her. No, it was just that he was anxious about how the whole thing would play out. Unlike her he wasn't used to playing games and telling lies. So he was nervous. That's it. He wasn't a bit worried. Still, he couldn't help the feeling of relief he felt when he saw her prancing towards the table, with her beautiful smile etched on her face.

"Brooke!" Both Nathan and Peyton exclaimed.

Brooke gave them one of her dimpled smiles and took a quick glance around the table. Her eyes only momentarily stopping at Lucas.

"Whoa… a lot of new faces around here!" She said choosing to grin at Mouth that was looking at her with awe. He was the safest choice as she saw it. Broody was staring at her coldly and she could do nothing but hope that he wouldn't mess it up and that other guy…oh shit…he was the guy that had seen them talking together!

Lucas examined her quickly, she was smiling, dimples and all, she looked just fine. No need for worrying about her…she didn't even seem nervous about their upcoming introduction like he was.

"Well, let me introduce you then. " Peyton piped in. "This is Lucas, and Lucas as you probably figured out already this is my best friend, Brooke"

Oh, he had certainly figured that out.

He got up and offered his hand at her smiling tightly.

"Brooke"

"Well, well, you're Lucas. It was about time. I'm thrilled to finally meet you!" Brooke said smiling widely as she took his hand.

They both felt the shock as their hands touched and Brooke pulled it back hastily.

"Me too" Lucas agreed faking a smile. God, she was a good actress. Of course she was…all part of her role. Why was he even mad at her? She had let him know who she was from the moment they met; it's just that he thought she was different around him. Apparently he was wrong.

"Peyton has told me so much about you, I feel like I already know you." She said grinning. Crap! Sometimes she just couldn't help herself, and all the time she was worrying that he would mess up.

"Is that so?" He replied tightly. Was she mocking him?

"What, didn't she tell you about me?" She asked pouting to Peyton.

"Yes, she did" Apparently not enough!

Well, he was certainly being awfully chatty Brooke thought with annoyance.

"I was so disappointed when you didn't show up at the café yesterday"

"Believe me, I wish I had"

Brooke frowned but continued nevertheless.

"Yeah, some kind of family emergency? Well, at least I got to meet you now. Better late than never, right?"

"Right" He replied coldly.

Haley was observing them curiously. For some weird reason Brooke wasn't flirting with Lucas as she had so blatantly done with both Jake and Nathan. She didn't even check him out as she did with both of them and every other male that had appeared at the café yesterday. Maybe because Lucas was Peyton's boyfriend, maybe him being her best friend's boyfriend made even that cheer-slut back off.

Peyton looked at Brooke uneasily. She was being nice and more reserved than usual, probably taking the hint after yesterday's mess with Jake. But Lucas was unusually cold, bordering rude in her opinion. Haley must have gotten to him already, but she hoped that as he got to know Brooke he would change his mind. She would make sure of it.

"Yeah…okay…" Brooke said, apparently he was not in the mood for playing nice…so she turned again to Peyton, "So…aren't you gonna introduce me to the others?"

Lucas got back at his seat. This hadn't gone that bad he thought with relief, apparently they were able to get away with it. He started looking around aimlessly only to be met by Haley's curious eyes. He avoided her and his eyes met Skillz that looked at him completely shocked. Shit! He had recognized Brooke from before. Lucas sent him a meaningful look hoping that he would get the point and not say anything before he got a chance to explain. How was he supposed to do that again? Damn her and her stupid ideas! How were they supposed to get out of this one now?

"So this is Mouth." Peyton continued. "You must remember him Brooke"

"Uh?"

"Brooke must have a problem with remembering faces" Haley said with a sugary smile.

Brooke decided to ignore her for now, she was dealing with too much as it was, and she didn't need her smartass remarks.

"Hello, Mouth. How do we know each other?" She asked him smiling sweetly.

"Hi Brooke, we went to elementary school together"

"Really? Mouth?" She said trying desperately to remember just to prove Haley wrong.

"Urm…my name is Marvin actually, Marvin McFaden"

"Marvin McFaden?! Oh I do remember you! You were sitting behind me at class!" Brooke exclaimed cheerily making Mouth ridiculously happy when she reached and gave him a small hug.

"See…she remembers him, but not you…" Haley whispered to Jake nudging him and giggling.

"They were friends, it's not the same!" Jake said wondering if he could possibly give a worst answer to that, by the look Haley was giving him, obviously not.

"And this is Skillz, he's in the team with the guys" Peyton concluded with the introductions. "Skillz, I don't know if you remember Brooke, she used to live here until three years ago"

"That's why you looked so familiar when I saw you earlier!" Skillz exclaimed causing both Brooke and Lucas to panic.

"Hi Skillz" Brooke said hesitantly trying to keep calm.

"You saw Brooke earlier?" Haley asked suspiciously.

"Urm…yeah I…I saw her talking to…" Skillz started noticing Lucas's pleading expression.

"You saw me talking to the girls? Bev and Theresa?" Brooke interrupted quickly.

"Urm…yeah, I think I saw you talking to Bevin and thought you looked familiar" Skillz said unsure.

Brooke just smiled in response and Lucas sighed with relief. Haley however eyed all three of them suspiciously. Was Brooke the girl Skillz saw Lucas talking to? It must have been. How the hell did they know each other? And why were they acting like they first saw each other only minutes before? Something was definitely up and she had to find out soon. What did this Brooke girl do this time?

"Are we done with the introductions?" Nathan said impatiently.

Glad for the interruption Brooke turned to him and gave him a teasing smile.

"Feeling neglected, Hot-shot?"

"Indeed I am! You didn't even say hello!" He exclaimed faking annoyance.

"My, my…how could I? Let me make it up to you."

"How…"

Nathan was interrupted as Brooke stood at her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello…" she purred at him.

Lucas tensed as she saw him kissing his brother that looked absolutely thrilled.

"So am I forgiven?" She asked him playfully.

"Definitely!" Nathan agreed smiling back to her.

"Well…now it's your turn to apologize"

"Mine? Why would I be…"

"Because I'm standing here for more than five minutes and you still haven't told me how good I look!" Brooke said tilting her head at the side.

"My mistake." Nathan grinned. "You look gorgeous" He whispered at her as he too leaned and gave her a small kiss at the cheek causing her to giggle.

By now Lucas was feeling sick to his stomach. Brooke saw him and couldn't help but feel happy about the way he was reacting. It was evident to her that the sight bothered him, a lot. This was wrong of course, she shouldn't be happy, but she had to admit…she was!

"Come on you two, take a seat" Peyton gestured smiling happily.

Brooke sat next to Mouth and Nathan sat himself at her other side. Peyton was sitting next to Lucas at the top of the table and Haley was squeezed between Jake and Skillz at the other side of the table across Brooke, Mouth and Nathan.

"So…where have you been?" Nathan asked Brooke.

"Didn't Peyt tell you? I was with Bev and Theresa."

"I went to look for you but you had left a while ago" Nathan answered.

"Oh, did you miss me that much?" Brooke asked trying to dodge the question.

"Maybe…or maybe Peyt forced me to go"

"I doubt that" Brooke smiled.

"Yeah...nice try, Nate" Peyton said. "He kept asking us for you, he was unbearable!"

"Whatever Pey, you're one to talk! How many times did you ask where Lucas is?"

"Hey…Luke is my boyfriend!"

"Yeah…I know how you two can't stay a minute away from each other"

Brooke averted her eyes, she didn't want to listen to how happy Peyton was with Lucas or how in love or whatever! Thankfully Peyton was not one for PDA, cause honestly if she saw the two of them making out she would probably puke! To his credit he didn't seem comfortable with the turn this conversation had taken either.

"Are you jealous, Natey?" Peyton continued teasing him.

"Jealous? No…just tired of playing third wheel…"

"Hm…maybe you won't have to do that anymore. What do you say Brooke, will you keep our poor Nate company?"

"Oh I think I'm up to that!" Brooke said playfully.

Brooke continued talking animatedly mostly to Nathan but turning to Mouth at times as well. Nathan hardly paid attention to anyone other at their table except for her.

Lucas had his eyes fixed at Brooke and his brother. He saw her smiling at Nate like she was smiling at him minutes before. He watched her lean to whisper something in his ear causing him to laugh. He wondered if her raspy voice gave Nate goosebumps as well. He watched as Nathan teased her causing her to hit and shove him playfully. He couldn't make out what they were saying but it looked like they were having fun, just like they had fun together. Only now they weren't supposed to do that again, not that way. So he was supposed to sit back and watch her be all over his brother? Not that he was jealous. Of course not. He was just looking out for his brother. He obviously liked her a lot and if she was just having her fun again she would hurt him. But what if she really liked him too? He couldn't decide what would bother him more. But luckily watching Brooke as she was now smiling and teasing a blushing Mouth he did not have to worry about the second possibility. That was her…acting the same way towards every guy that came her way. Where had the girl that hated the role she was playing go anyway? That couldn't have been part of the act, could it? Or maybe it was, a way to show him that he was special, that she opened up to him…and he just like a fool fell for it.

She could feel his eyes on her. She kept trying to act as she usually would but she couldn't. It felt good to know he was watching her but it also meant trouble, big trouble ahead. His abrupt tone and his icy eyes told her he was probably mad at her and obviously convinced by her acting. She tried taking a look at him when she thought no one was watching and she could see the hurt she had seen before replaced by resentment. That made her stomach drop and she had to constantly fight to hold her emotions in check…otherwise the tears would soon follow again. She kept concentrating on his arm around Peyton, his girlfriend, the girlfriend he didn't mention. If he thought he had a right to be angry with her then what about her? Didn't she have the same right and then some?

"So what do you think about her?" Peyton asked him but she didn't receive an answer. "Luke…earth to Lucas? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, of course why shouldn't it?"

"Don't know, you kinda zoned out on me"

"Sorry, baby I was just thinking"

"About?"

"Dan…" Maybe he wasn't that bad at this lying thing after all. And heck, at least his dad did come useful this time.

"Oh, so why did you two get into it again today?"

"I missed our morning run."

"Oh, you did? Why?"

"I overslept…"

Haley that had been observing Lucas from the moment she realized something was going on with him and Brooke almost jumped in her seat when she heard that.

"Are you okay, Hales?" Jake asked sensing her abrupt movement.

"Urh…yeah, yeah just fine" She shrugged.

"So I asked you what do you think about Brooke…when you weren't listening" Peyton continued asking Luke.

"What do I think?"

"Yeah…do you like her?"

"Peyt…we hardly exchanged two words together"

"Yeah, I know…but Nathan was getting impatient" Peyton chuckled.

Lucas didn't answer but looked at the two of them once again only to catch his brother putting his arm around her shoulder as she once again leaned to whisper something to him. The urge to rip his arm off was just too big.

"Don't they look cute together?" Peyton asked him again.

"Cute?" Lucas repeated trying really hard not to scream.

"Yeah…they're pretty cozy, aren't they?"

"They certainly do seem cozy" He hissed.

Peyton looked at him taken aback by his tone.

"Luke?"

"They're certainly moving fast"

"Well…it's Nate we're talking about here…I would say this is even slow for him" Peyton giggled.

"Your friend doesn't seem to mind either" He said sending a reproachful look to an oblivious Brooke.

"Yeah…Brooke is…she's like Nate in that aspect I guess"

"Sleeping around with random guys you mean?"

"Lucas!" Peyton said loud enough to cause everybody at the table to look at them.

Lucas cursed himself.

"What's up you guys?" Nathan asked concerned.

Brooke looked at Peyton who avoided her eyes and then at Lucas who was looking down.

"Nothing…" he finally mumbled and Peyton nodded.

Nathan shrugged it off, but Brooke shot Lucas a warning look. Oh, that girl had some nerve! Deciding to put her aside for the moment he turned to his furious girlfriend.

"Babe, I'm sorry…"

"What the hell was that Luke?" Peyton asked still angry.

"I am sorry. I don't know where that came from. I'm…I'm upset with Dan" God, how much more would he blame on Dan tonight? Not that the bastard didn't deserve it.

"So you vent out on Brooke? Lucas you hardly met her!"

"I didn't mean it that way; it just came out all wrong"

"I don't know what Haley told you, but I would appreciate it if you tried to like her Luke. You know how much I love her"

"I do, I'm sorry. And Haley has nothing to do with it. I just…it won't happen again" Geez, how many times was he gonna apologize tonight?

"It better not Luke!" Peyton said still somewhat angry but deciding to let it go this time, after all she knew how bad Dan could get on both of his sons nerves.

Brooke watched with worry at the fight the two of them where apparently having. She sure as hell hoped it didn't concern her and their meeting. Peyton turned and smiled at her reassuringly. Ok…so obviously the crisis had been avoided. But then Lucas looked at her as well, and his expression told her that the whole fight was her fault somehow. The two of them stared at each other for a while and both turned almost simultaneously when they realized what they were doing.

"So you're all on the team?" Brooke asked curiously after a while of chit-chat around the table.

"Oh, I'm most certainly not!" Mouth exclaimed.

"Mouth is our official sports caster" Nathan explained.

"What?"

"I describe the games. I used to do it back at the Rivercourt, and now I do it for the school's radio station."

"The Rivercourt?" Brooke said in a quiet voice stealing a glance at Lucas who in contrast to before was also looking at her sadly.

"Yeah…it's Luke's favorite court" Peyton supplied.

"It's a great place, at the riverside park, really peaceful" Nathan said.

"Do you like basketball, Brooke?" Jake asked.

"I am a cheerleader, aren't I?"

"Well, Peyton is as well but she never watches the games on tv and I doubt she had ever touched the ball!" Nathan said laughing.

"Oh, Brookie has played, haven't you Davis?" Peyton teased.

Lucas tensed up. Brooke must have given Peyton a full account of their morning meeting. He felt immensely curious to find out what she had said to her friend before realizing who he was, but it was not like he could actually ask her.

"You play?" Nathan asked genuinely interested and slightly surprised.

"Of course not. That was a one time thing and it won't happen again, _ever_" Brooke said resolutely.

He was sure that statement was directed at him. But he could also discern some sadness in her voice and again he doubted the sincerity in her words when she assured him that she was not hurt by their situation.

"Didn't you like it?" He asked not being able to restrain himself.

"I did, but it has too many risks involved" She replied staring at him.

He stayed quiet, what could he say anyway? She was absolutely right.

"Risks?" Nathan asked confused.

"Well…I wouldn't want to break… a nail now, would I?" She said kinking her eyebrow at him.

Everybody at the table broke into laughter, except Lucas. Even Haley had to laugh with that.

"Did you break one the last time you played?" Lucas asked her again too serious for the conversation they were having.

"No, I stopped just in time" Brooke replied with the same serious tone he used. She wondered if everyone else thought they were crazy talking so seriously about…breaking nails! Haley probably thought she actually meant it Brooke thought amused.

"Next time we can play together, I can teach you how to play. It will be fun." Nathan offered smiling.

Lucas again fought the urge to tell his brother that he had no place teaching her anything, let alone the game they played together.

"I think I'll stick to cheerleading from now on."

"Cheerleading also involves risk. You may…sprain an ankle?" Lucas continued.

"I've done it for years, I know how to not get hurt."

"Yeah…but shouldn't you try new things some times?" Lucas tried again.

"No…I think it's better to stay with what you know. It helps avoiding unpleasant surprises, you know?"

"I think I do" He replied sadly. He just hoped everyone at the table still thought they were talking about the game.

"How come you haven't taught Peyt how to play?" Brooke asked.

"Lucas? He's too impatient to do that!" Haley answered instead.

"Is he?"

"Yes, I asked him to teach me and after just looking at how I was holding the ball he deemed me a lost cause and sent me to Nate!" Peyton said laughing.

"Oh" was all Brooke could manage while Luke kept staring at her intently.

The conversation soon drifted from the subject and Brooke turned to Nate while Peyton started talking to Lucas.

Haley kept observing both of them. Sure, Brooke was all over Nate just like yesterday …but she had caught her stealing glances at Lucas too many times. Lucas on the other hand was not that discrete staring at the two of them almost all the time. She didn't get a good feeling about all this. She had to talk to Luke as soon as possible.


	10. More Lies to Cover our Lies

_**AN:**_ You guys are the best! I love all your comments! Just keep them coming and I will do my best to update as soon as possible! I actually wanted to put some more things in this one…but the BL interaction got too long (I can't stop writing them together) so it will have to wait for the next one. I hope you'll like it:D

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

_**More Lies to Cover our Lies**_

Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The girls had excused themselves and had gone to the bathroom, which left all the guys alone talking about their favorite subject, the upcoming basketball season. However he could not enjoy the conversation, not with Skillz looking at him obviously wondering for some explanation on what he had just witnessed. He had no idea what he should say and honestly he hoped he would have some more time to figure something out. Skillz however didn't seem willing to wait and he found that quite uncharacteristic of his friend that wasn't usually nosy. However he had to admit this situation did seem really weird. He decided to delay the inevitable as long as possible but unfortunately Skillz didn't give him the chance.

"I'm gonna get something to drink, anyone else want something?" Skillz said as he got up and looked at Lucas intently.

Luke groaned…well…he would have to improvise or simply ask his friend to butt out of his business.

"Sure, I'll come with you" He said as he too got up and the two guys left the table.

As soon as they were out of the other guys' sight Skillz stopped and turned to Lucas. Lucas sighed…here it goes…

"Look man, I know it looks weird but I can explain…" He started.

"That's not why I dragged you here, Dawg" Skillz said shaking his head.

"It's not?" Lucas asked completely confused.

"Hey…what you do with your girlfriend's best friend is your business…no need to explain yourself to me" Skillz said and Luke cringed at his reproachful tone.

"I know it seems bad, but really it isn't like that…" Lucas insisted feeling the need to explain himself. It was probably worse of course but Skillz had no need of knowing thatt.

"Dude…really, it's cool. The thing is…" Skillz hesitated shifting from one foot to another.

"No man, it's not cool, I'm not sure what you're thinking but…" Lucas started not really knowing how to continue but luckily Skillz interrupted him again.

"Luke…you don't owe me an explanation. But I think we might have a little problem"

"I don't understand"

"Don't freak out on me…but I kinda…well…I can't be sure but I think that…"

"Skillz?" Lucas said starting to panic, Skillz looked really uncomfortable.

"I think I've messed up" Skillz said with a sigh.

"You? How did you…?"

"I mighta…told Hales about this" Skillz said looking guilty.

"What?!" Lucas screamed in panic.

"Sorry, man" Skillz said lowering his head.

"Hales…when…what…what did you tell her?!" Lucas said trying to wrap his head around this new development.

"When I got to the table after I saw you with that Brooke chick…I kinda told her I saw you talking with someone"

"That's all you told her? Then how could she know that that someone is Brooke?" He felt a bit hopeful again, surely Haley couldn't possible know that Skillz had been talking about Brooke.

"I kinda told her you were talking with a girl that looked familiar…and when I saw Brooke…" Skillz said shrugging.

"Shit!"

"Maybe she didn't realize it was Brooke"

"Oh she did, that's why she was looking at me that way. Damn it!" Lucas said frustrated.

"I'm sorry man, really I am. But when I saw the two of you talking, how could I ever imagine…?"

"It's not your fault. This is all my fault. Why did I have to listen to her?!"

"Listen to her?"

"Never mind, tell me exactly what you told Hales" Luke said sighing.

"I told her I saw you talking seriously with some girl that seemed somehow familiar and I didn't talk to you because I felt like I would be interrupting"

Lucas scratched his head.

"I didn't mean to do it, but you were both so serious I was worried. And when I realized that you were intending to hide the fact that you know each other, I thought I'd better warn you about Hales"

"Thanks Skillz, I appreciate it"

"Don't mention it, dude. I just wish I hadn't opened my mouth"

"How could you know…now we should get back. And Skillz, thank you for not asking any questions. It's a bit complicated right now"

"Dawg, I'm cool, but for your sake I hope you have some answers for Hales because if she has figured this out she's bound to have lots of them"

* * *

The three girls entered the bathroom and both Peyton and Brooke started checking their make up, while Haley was eyeing them warily. Brooke couldn't understand why Peyton insisted on dragging Haley along with them, honestly if this was a plan to get the two of them to bond, the girl's bathroom was just not the right place. Haley obviously didn't want to come with them, it wasn't like she needed to retouch her makeup, she would have to have some on to do that! But finally she let Peyton convince her when the guys said they would take the opportunity to talk about basketball, again! And now here they were and no one was saying a word…talk about uncomfortable Brooke thought as she reapplied a layer of gloss on her lips. 

"So…" Peyton was the one to break the silence, "how do you like Tric so far Brooke?"

"It's really good, I told you that"

"Did you see anybody else except Bevin and Theresa?"

"Nah…I just talked with them" She shrugged looking into her purse for her mascara.

"Really? Nobody else?" Haley interrupted in disbelief.

Brooke froze. She turned and looked at her confused.

"No, nobody else. Why?" She asked.

"Well, everybody seems to remember you from before. I thought it would be very possible that you've bumped into other people you _somehow_ know" Haley replied with the fakest smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But it didn't happen." Brooke shrugged confused. Was Haley getting at what she thought she was? She couldn't know, could she?

"You'll see everybody at school, on Monday" Peyton said.

Brooke continued with her make up when Haley interrupted her again.

"So when was the last time you were here?" She asked.

"Here? It's the first time I've ever been at Tric"

"No…not Tric. Tree Hill. When was the last time you were at Tree Hill?"

"Last summer" Brooke said with her confusion rising by the minute. Since when did Haley become so interested in what she was doing? Did she decide to become friends all of a sudden? But why did her tone almost seem accusatory? What did she think Brooke did this time?

"Really? I don't remember seeing you around"

"Erm…" Brooke made a confused sound turning to Peyton for help.

"We didn't hang out here a lot, we mostly drove at Charlotte at nights or stayed in" Peyton explained.

"Oh, so you didn't see anyone else when you were here?"

"Of course I did, I saw Bev and T and some other girls…is there something you want to ask me Haley?" Brooke asked getting annoyed.

Oh there certainly was! By now she had about a million questions for her. But with Peyton staring at both of them confused Haley decided to drop it. Sure she wanted answers but getting them from Brooke with Peyton around was not going to be easy. It was not like she was going to fess up and tell them how she knew Lucas and she couldn't just go ahead and ask her…not in front of a clueless Peyton.

"Nah… I was just wondering." She shrugged it off.

"Ok." Brooke said not entirely convinced.

* * *

The girls got back from the bathroom to find all the guys in a vivid discussion. Brooke started teasing Nathan to distract him from the subject when she saw Lucas looking at her intently. She tried to ignore it but he wouldn't stop. It was like he was trying to tell her something. What was he trying to do? Someone was bound to notice him. Feeling very angry and awkward she got up and excused herself telling them she was going to find Bev and Theresa again as she had promised. She barely made it to the dance floor when she heard his voice. 

"Brooke!"

"What the hell are you doing Lucas?" She said turning to face him angry.

"We need to talk" He replied calmly.

"No we don't! Now go back there before somebody sees us" Brooke said turning her back to him again.

She was turned around abruptly by Lucas who grabbed her hand forcefully and started dragging her to a side exit.

"Are you insane?! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Let me go!" She screamed but Lucas didn't release her hand until they were out of the club.

"Have you lost it? What the hell was that for?" Brooke yelled furious.

"I told you we needed to talk!" He replied equally angry now.

"And I told you we don't! Do you realize how many people just saw us coming out here together? What are you trying to do?"

"Nobody would have seen us if you didn't come screaming and kicking and had just agreed to talk to me when I told you so!"

"Oh excuse me! Since you told me so of course I should have obeyed!" Brooke huffed.

"Brooke!"

"Don't you Brooke me, Lucas! Where do you get off dragging me around like that?"

"It's not my fault you won't listen when I talk to you!"

"The great Lucas Scott has spoken…of course…silly me! I am so sorry that…"

"Would you stop with the hysterics, we have a problem!"

"Hysterics? Why your nerve is unbelievable, first you drag me out here and then you insult me!"

"Brooke, will you just shut up?!" Lucas yelled exasperated.

Brooke looked at him shocked.

"Finally! Now, I said we have a problem"

"Of course we do! The entire club just saw you dragging me out here!"

"I think it is a little too late to be worrying about who saw us right now"

"Is this about your friend that saw us, cause I'm sure you could tell him…"

"It's not that, I've dealt with him. We have a much bigger problem" He said putting his hands in his pockets as he tried to find the best way to explain the new complications in their mess.

"I'm listening" Brooke said impatiently.

"I think there is a chance that…" He sighed hesitating and Brooke shot him another glare. "I think Haley might know" He finally blurted out.

Brooke felt almost dizzy.

"How?" She barely whispered.

"Skillz"

"Are you sure? You said might, what do you mean?" She asked desperately.

"He told her he saw me talking with some girl and…"

"Why didn't you stop him? Why didn't you talk to him sooner?!"

"I couldn't, okay? How was I supposed to talk to him with everyone around! Besides, he told her before I even saw him when he got to the table before us"

"But then he didn't know who I was" Brooke concluded confused.

"He just told her he saw me talking with a girl that looked familiar, and from his reaction when he first saw you, I bet Hales figured it out" Lucas sighed.

"That's why she asked me all those weird questions before, and I thought she was just crazy"

"Questions?"

"She was grilling me at the bathroom about who I was with before I came to the table. She even asked me about the last time I was in Tree Hill!"

"Why would she ask you about that?"

"I don't know! Maybe she thinks that we met before when I was here"

"Yeah, that makes sense"

"We are so screwed!" Brooke exclaimed as the situation finally registered.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Lucas quipped gaining another evil glare from Brooke.

"Oh, God what are we going to do?" She said as she started to pace up and down.

"I have no idea…" Lucas sighed resigned.

"She's your friend, you talk to her!" Brooke said turning to face him.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not the one that got us into this mess!"

"What do you expect me to do?" She yelled again.

"Hell if I know! This was your brilliant idea!"

"I had no choice!"

"The idea of just telling the truth never crossed your mind?"

"I told you we couldn't! I have already told Peyton about you."

"Still I think we could have been honest" He insisted.

"If you had any idea what I told her, you would know we had no choice." Brooke said and then silently cursed herself. She was loosing it and she started blurting out too much. She had to be careful or she was definitely screwed.

"What exactly did you tell her Brooke?" He asked raising his eyebrow. This was an answer he was dying to have.

"It's not important" Brooke said attempting for nonchalance.

"It is to me!"

"Why?"

Why? Because he had to know if she really meant it when she said that it was all nothing. Because he had to know that he was not the only one feeling like he was, which was better left undefined for the moment.

"Why? Because I'm in this shit over my head and I think I deserve to know why" And he was the one blaming her for not being honest…he really was a hypocrite. He saw disappointment in her face but she quickly became indifferent again.

"I already told you ok?"

"She was referring to me wasn't she?" He asked not being able to drop the subject.

"What?"

"When she said that you played basketball Brooke, was she referring to me?" He asked impatiently.

"I told you today was the first time I've ever done it, who do you think she was talking about?" She replied irritated again.

"I couldn't be sure"

"You think I lied?!" Brooke yelled again the pain evident in her eyes.

"You seem to have the hang of it" He knew he was hurting her but heck…anything to get her to tell him something.

"You bastard! How dare you?!" Brooke screamed as she raised her hand to slap him.

He caught her hand in time and stared at her darkly.

"Don't you ever call me that again!"

His voice was icy and his eyes… She didn't mean to say that. Not knowing his history but with him questioning everything she told him she just lost it, again.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean…"

"Forget it!" He said as he released her arm and turned his back on her.

"Lucas no, it was just an expression, please" She said reaching to touch his back.

"I said forget it" He repeated turning to face her again with his eyes hard like before.

"But…"

"We have more important things to worry about, okay?"

"It's not okay, Broody, I would never…"

Her voice almost cracked and when he heard her call him Broody he felt the most amazing feeling of relief. He looked in her eyes and saw her regret. He knew he had overreacted but with all that had happened today he was way over his limits.

"I know. I snapped, it's not your fault." He said in a soft voice offering her a small smile.

She returned the smile and kept looking in his eyes. They weren't dark anymore and she felt herself drowning in their blue pools.

"Okay…so about Haley…" She said gathering all her strength to break their gaze.

"Yeah…" He said nodding his head. For that moment he felt like they were back at the rivercourt and that she was just Cheery and not Brooke, his girlfriend's best friend. But of course she had to bring Haley up and reality came crashing back on him.

"Ok…let's not panic just yet. I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."

"I'm all ears"

"God…how much do you think she knows?" Brooke said as she started pacing again.

"Just that we know each other somehow and we hid it. She can't know how we've met or what happened between us."

"Nothing did." She spat out.

"Right" Could she stop sending him all these mixed signals? At times he felt like he was talking to two different girls.

"What did you tell Skillz, you can tell her the same thing and…"

"I didn't tell him anything." He interrupted.

"You said you've dealt with him." She said as she stopped pacing and placed her hands at her hips waiting for an explanation.

"He didn't want any explanations, okay?"

"So you just left him think whatever it was he was thinking…Are you mad?"

"What did you want me to do? Do you think I had any lies ready to feed him? Damn it Brooke, I've never done this before, ok? Lying doesn't come as easy to me!"

"As easy as it comes to me, right?" And there for a moment she actually believed he didn't resent her that much…but now she could see him looking at her just like he did back at the table.

"You said you've done this before, Brooke, I just believed you"

"I wasn't talking about…oh why do I even bother!" She sighed raising her hands and letting them drop at her sides. If he wanted to think that she was lying all along he could, why did she care anyway? "Fine, you didn't tell him anything which I guess can be a good thing, this way we can think of something convincing to tell both of them later."

"Go right ahead…I'm waiting."

Brooke huffed and resumed her pacing.

"Any luck?" He asked smirking.

"I'm thinking okay?"

"Please do take your time, but by the time you're done just keep on thinking about what we're gonna tell to Jake, Nate and Peyton." He replied sarcasm lacing his voice.

"You think she's gonna tell them, before asking you, like right now?!" Brooke asked panicking.

"I doubt she will tell anything to Peyt before talking to me, but she might tell Jake or ask Nate if he knows something about it."

"She's gonna tell Nathan?!" Brooke yelled with a horrified expression.

Lucas felt the jealousy shoot right through him. Did she care about what his brother think that much?

"Why…afraid she's gonna ruin your blooming romance with my brother?" He asked harshly.

"You have a problem with that?"

"You having fun with my brother or my brother with you? Why would I?"

"Jealous much?" She asked with a mocking smile.

"Please…he's my brother, I'm glad his having his fun."

Brooke just lowered her head with hurt in her eyes. That's what he thought of her...nothing more, nothing less. But wasn't that exactly what she wanted?

He'd done it again, pushed it too far. It was like he got a kick out of seeing her hurt.

"Brooke…" He said trying to apologize again but she didn't give him a chance.

"So we have to think fast. Cause _yes_, I wouldn't want Nathan to know. The more people that know the easier it will get to Peyton."

"I didn't see you that concerned about her telling Jake." The least she could do was admit that she wanted Nathan. Why was she denying it? It was not like this was supposed to bother him. She was not supposed to know how much this was bothering him.

"What I do with Nate, is none of your business, clear?" She asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"Crystal" He replied grimly.

"Great…so we have to think fast. You have to find her before she gets a chance to tell anybody."

"Sure…I'll go find her…and what the hell am I supposed to tell her?"

"I don't know! Something, anything! Just ask her not to say anything and you'll explain later."

"You obviously don't know Hales." He said shaking his head.

"Well you do, so help me out here!"

"Your plan…you find a solution!"

"Gosh, are you stupid or something? Do you think I'm the only one who will take the fall if this comes out?"

"All I know is that if we had told the truth from the start everything would be fine right now! I would have explained to Peyton, she would have understood! Hell, even is she was angry we could have dealt with it. But now? Now anything we're gonna say is going to sound like a lie! Nobody is gonna believe the truth!"

"Don't you think I know that?"

"This is all your fault, you know!"

They were both screaming by now.

"I know, okay?! I know! I shouldn't have come to the Rivercourt this morning, I should have asked you your damn name, I shouldn't have told Peyton about you, and I shouldn't have asked you to lie! Are you happy? This whole mess is my fault, and if Peyton never speaks to me again she'll be absolutely right!"

He watched her outburst and was shocked to see how her eyes started glistening with unshed tears. She turned her back at him and he felt horrible. God, he was such an ass!

"Hey…hey Brooke" He tried softly putting his hand on her shoulder, but she just shook her head without turning around.

He slowly turned her around and she didn't resist his hand still resting on her shoulder. She had her head lowered but he could see a few stray tears running down her cheeks. He had made her cry. He felt like shit. It just hurt him too much to watch her like this. She was Cheery she wasn't supposed to be crying and it was his fault that she did.

"Cheery please…don't…please don't cry." He whispered softly to her.

"I'm not." She denied but without much force.

He couldn't help smiling. She was surely stubborn. To be honest, though he hated to see her cry he was also glad in a twisted sort of way. This was the first time after the whole thing had blown up in their faces that he could actually say he saw her feeling something. It was refreshing to see her real again and not just the fake smile he was sure she was constantly sporting. He gently reached his hand and raised her chin so she could look at him.

"Don't worry, it's gonna be fine, we'll figure this out." He said reassuringly.

"How?" She whispered.

God, she seemed so scared right now, like a little girl. She didn't seem like the confident girl that was flirting with him this morning and she had nothing in common with the girl that played with every guy at their table this night. She seemed so helpless and all he wanted to do was pull her in his arms and comfort her, take back everything that he said to make her cry. So he did. He just pulled her in his arms and held her tightly.

Brooke was surprised and he felt her stiff in his arms. But as he kept holding her, the hug they shared this morning came back to her. She had missed the feeling she noticed surprised. She couldn't fight it, it just felt too good. So she let herself take comfort in his arms. Everything was too much to handle right now and being there she felt like it would somehow turn out okay. So she relaxed and hugged him back tightly burying her head in his chest and savoring his smell that engulfed her.

When he felt her hug him back he sighed with relief and slightly tightened his grip around her.

"I'll talk to Hales like you said. I'll ask her not to say anything and she won't." He said soothingly.

"Are you sure she's gonna listen?" Brooke said in a muffled voice not raising her head from his chest.

"I am…this…this is both our fault Brooke, I shouldn't have blamed you." He said with regret.

"You were right, it's mostly mine." She said with her face still hidden.

"If I really wanted to tell Peyton the truth I would have insisted. You didn't make me go along with it."

"Why didn't you?" She said raising her head and looking at him curiously.

"Because…because I have also talked to Nate about you." Lucas sighed.

"You have?" Brooke asked looking at him surprised. Why hadn't he mentioned anything before?

"Yeah…When I got home in the morning..." He nodded.

"Oh God! What if Peyton tells something to Nate about you?! They'll figure it out!"

"I don't think we have to worry about that." He said calmly.

"Why? How can you be so sure that…"

"Cause Peyton is pretty much set on getting you and Nathan together." He said somber.

"Oh" Brooke said with a guilty expression as she disentangled herself from his arms.

Lucas sighed immediately feeling the loss of her body.

"So I doubt she will tell him about any other guys you've met. And Nathan would never tell Peyton about my meeting any girls…so we're safe in that aspect at least" He said not sounding at all happy about it. Truth be told, he pondered on telling Nathan about her. Then he would certainly back off and he wouldn't have to worry about the two of them.

Brooke felt a little better now. Letting her emotions out in front of him was refreshing. Usually she felt weak and ashamed when she did that, let her guard down in front of others, but with him it felt different. And the way he just held her and comforted her with his gentle words made her feel so grateful.

"I'm sorry Lucas, I didn't mean to freak out like this but…" She said giving him a small smile.

"Hey…I freaked out too, right? It's been a long night"

"Thank you" She said sincerely.

"For what?"

Brooke shrugged.

"I may have an idea on what we could tell her." She said thoughtfully.

"You do?" He asked skeptically.

"Since she thinks we've met last summer, let's confirm it."

"Okay…and why didn't we tell them that?"

"Urm…we could say we met and had a thing?" Brooke said looking at him in question.

"What?!" Lucas yelled.

"It was last summer…you weren't with Peyton, I'm the type of girl that I am, she will buy it." Brooke tried.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." He said scratching his head.

"Why? It was in the past, over and done with. So, when we saw each other again today, here at Tric, we realized who the other one was."

"Okay…"

"And, for Peyton's sake we decided to act like we didn't know each other to avoid an awkward situation."

"Ha…"

"Do you think she'll buy it?"

"She might, but I think this will make things even worse."

"How on earth could things possibly become worse?"

"She will insist I tell Peyt, and she most definitely will tell Nate."

"Great! Can't she just keep a darn secret?!" Brooke said loosing her cool again.

"Not like this one, no."

"Do you think you should tell her the truth?"

"I don't know…the problem is that she doesn't exactly…well…she thinks you…" Lucas said averting his eyes.

"She hates my guts? Yeah…I pretty much got that" Brooke shrugged with a fake smile.

"She doesn't know you" He said seriously.

Brooke looked at him surprised, feeling again immensly grateful.

"Yeah…so I don't know how she will react" He continued since she didn't seem to want to reply at that.

"Can't think of anything else…" She sighed resigned.

"Maybe we could work with the last summer theory. Only we wouldn't tell her that we had a thing but that we got into a big fight or something." Lucas said unsure.

"A fight?"

"By the way we've fought the last couple of hours I think we won't have a problem to seem convincing." He said with a chuckle. He was rewarded by her first dimpled smile since they got out there.

"And then?" She asked again hopeful.

"Then pretty much what you've said. For Peyt's sake we decided not to say anything to avoid tension and since we didn't want to have to figure out a lie about how we met…we acted like we haven't."

"If you think this will work…"

"I think it might…"

"See Broody, you may have a knack at lying after all." She said smiling again.

"Gee…thanks! I will add it to my résumé."

Brooke laughed in response and he felt like he had finally done something right in this night. Even if that was thinking of a lie for his best friend.

"So what will you say our fight was about?"

"Leave that to me…"

"Am I to assume she will end up hating me even more after this?" Brooke said kinking her eyebrow.

"Probably…" Lucas said squinting his eyes, he planned to just go along with the impression Brooke had already made on Hales and work with that.

"Great. Just Great!"

"If you have any other ideas then please feel free to…"

"No, no! This is fine! She can think whatever she wants, like I care!" Brooke cut him off. Haley hating her was the least of her problems.

"Cheery? You do care." Lucas stated.

"Oh, we're so not psychoanalyzing each other right now, we have a job to do." Brooke said in a lighter tone.

"God…I really hate having to lie to her." Lucas sighed running his hand through his hair.

Brooke took on the guiltiest expression.

"I know. I hate to ask this from you… If you think she won't speak then tell her the truth, but if you think she might talk to Peyton, then please, I'm asking you, please just lie, just this last time." She concluded with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Okay" Could anyone possibly deny anything to this girl?

"Thank you"

"You don't need to."

"Let's just get back inside now."

"Ok…Brooke wait…your face is all smudged up." Lucas stopped her, running a finger on her tear stained cheek.

Brooke froze at his touch and she stared at him feeling extremely nervous. He seemed frozen at his spot too. Once again they had got too close for comfort so Brooke took a step back as she shook her head.

"My mascara ran again, great! I think I will just spend the entire night at the bathroom, why do I even bother coming out?"

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"Nothing…" Her and her big mouth.

"Have you been crying before?" He asked concerned

"No!" She denied forcefully…too forcefully.

"Tell me the truth, Cheery." Lucas said with a heavy sigh.

"We need to catch Hales before…"

"Tell me!" He yelled angry. Seriously this girl was driving him crazy. One minute they were so close and the next she was just infuriating.

"Why would I be crying?" She asked coldly.

"I don't know, but…"

"Right, you don't know cause I had no reason to. So let's just get back inside before they send someone searching for us and then we're really screwed."

"Fine!"

"You go ahead first, I'll come back in a while."

"Are you sure you're alright?" He said in a last attempt to make her talk.

"I am. Just find Haley."

"Okay" Lucas said reluctantly and he opened the door walking back in the club.

Brooke busied herself with finding a tissue and started cleaning her face. She would have to visit the bathroom once again but still she couldn't risk someone seeing her on her way there. This night had been an emotional rollercoaster and she already had too many outbursts. She just had to find an excuse quickly and get back home to put herself together before anything else would come up. Although it couldn't get any worse now could it?


	11. Counting My Losses

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Counting **__**My Losses**_

Brooke plopped her feet on the couch and took a long sip from the clear liquid in her glass. She had needed this drink for so long it was about time she finally got the chance to have it! She felt the burning sensation the vodka left on her throat and sighed contently. Damned all-age club…she would find a nice spot she could take advantage of her fake id first thing tomorrow.

The lights in the living room were off, the only light in the room coming from the tv set playing an old movie she was really not paying any attention to. It was way late in the night but Brooke had decided that since sleep was very unlikely to come to her she could use this chance to relax and regroup. After tonight she certainly had a lot to think of. Mostly of course she was thinking a lot, of one thing-person. Who? But Lucas of course! Really how weird would it be for both her and Peyton to be dreaming about the same guy lying there in the same bed beside each other? So when Peyton finally had fallen asleep she got out of bed and came to the living room to have her much needed drink feeling immensely grateful that the new maid had thought of fully stocking their bar.

What a night…what a day to be more accurate. At least she was able to get through it still unscathed. Now for the days to come, she couldn't be as confident. So she needed to think of a way out and fast. So far all she had been doing ended up in getting her in a worse predicament than before. Taking another sip she started rethinking the night's events…

Putting herself together after the heated discussion she had with Lucas she had joined Bev and Theresa so as to give him a chance to explain to Haley. No, not explain, lie! But whatever…She couldn't feel guilty about that as well. She didn't care about what they did to Haley as long as Peyton never knew. Lucas could feel guilty for her, she was his nosy friend after all. She had stayed with the girls long, way too long, but she was too scared to return and face the possibility that their plan hadn't worked out. She eventually figured that since Peyton hadn't come yet to punch her in the face the plan must have gone well. So gathering all her courage she finally made her way back before her absence became suspicious.

As she approached their table an imperceptible nod from Lucas, that was again sitting with his arm around Peyton she noticed with distain, told her that apparently things had gone well, as well as expected anyway. Somehow he had managed to convince Haley, and Brooke granted him a grateful smile before resuming her position next to Nathan.

Now one would assume that the rest of the night had gone uneventful but no….of course not! Why would it? Peyton was right when she said that drama just followed Brooke Davis around as she had said long ago, apparently this summer's drama didn't stay at LA but followed her all the way to Tree Hill. So how did things go from there?

Well, first of all she had to put up with Haley's evil glares for the rest of the night. Not that she was surprised. She had to wonder what exactly Lucas had told her to make her look at her even more evilly than before if that was possible. She would have to ask him sometime maybe it would make her laugh…or cry, she couldn't be sure. Anyway, Haley certainly didn't hide her resentment towards her and had thrown a handful of snide remarks that Brooke fought hard but managed not to reciprocate she thought proud of herself. Truth be told she was just too scared that her response might tick off Haley to the point she would reveal their secret. She realized sadly that she was now forced to put up with her bitchy behavior and play nice. She had no other option, Haley James had the upper hand, _for now_. Brooke was determined to find something as leverage for herself. She couldn't let anyone have that kind of power over her, let alone that good-two-shoes with the self-righteous attitude. Everybody had secrets right? Well she would have to work hard enough to find the skeletons in Saint Haley's closet. Every time Haley said something she could see the guilty expression Lucas had from the corner of her eye. Of course he didn't say anything…was he scared as well, did he have to go along with it as he had to convince Haley that he hated her himself or was there a possibility that he actually agreed with her? She tried to show him that she didn't care but she was afraid Haley might catch any exchange between them so all she managed was putting on some reassuring smiles and hoped that he got the message. She didn't want him to feel bad for her, feel sorry for her. She could take Haley's remarks; they didn't touch her, right?

Putting Haley aside the highlight of the night was Nathan. Sitting here alone she could admit that she seriously liked him. He had spent the night paying attention only to her and that made her feel very special. He had paid her an enormous amount of compliments, expecting her to pay them back of course and she gladly did. They talked about the things they liked, movies and music…that kind of stuff. Peyton had told her than Nathan came off as an ass? Well, she didn't see that. He was nothing but sweet to her, albeit his cocky attitude was still there but she found that attractive. She got the impression that he wasn't usually like that and she liked that he tried to make an effort for her.

Honestly? If she hadn't met Broody this morning she would now be in bed with Nathan and not sitting in the dark living room emptying another glass of vodka. That was the second by the way; with Peyton sleeping upstairs she had to be careful not to overdo it she thought with a grimace. But the thing was that she had met Broody or Lucas or Nathan's brother or Peyton's boy-toy, take your pick. And though Nathan was hot, sweet, amazing and all that stuff…she couldn't stop thinking about Lucas. Ok…maybe a third glass was in order, she would sleep it off anyway, Peyton wouldn't know a thing. Again.

Lying to Peyton. That was a new low for her and trust me Brooke Davis had done some low things in her high school years. After coming back to the table she avoided looking or talking to Peyton. How could she look her in the eyes when she was feeding her with all these lies? When she had even put her boyfriend and one of her closest friends to lie to her? She tried to convince herself that all she was doing was for Peyton's sake. So as not to hurt her feelings. Was it really? Or was she just being selfish again? She was…afraid. Afraid that she might loose what she had with Peyt if she had told her the truth. If she had told the truth from the start as Lucas so feverishly insisted, then Peyton wouldn't be angry with her. It wasn't her fault, she had no way of knowing that the guy she met and liked so much was non other than Lucas. It was an unfortunate coincidence. But the problem was that Peyt would then realize that Brooke had a crush on _her _boyfriend. How could they continue the way they were with this out in the open? Most likely they wouldn't. And that was something Brooke couldn't afford. Of course now she thought that she had been wrong not to tell the truth from the start…but after the act they had put when Peyton had introduced them there was no way back. They had made a choice, however wrong it was, and they now just had to follow through with it. If she was able to turn back time then she would have been honest with her. No, not true again. If she was able to turn back time she would go back at this morning and never set foot at Rivercourt.

So being with the others she was able to avoid Peyton making it seem like she was too preoccupied with Nathan to deal with anyone else. Peyton was happy about that so that was good. Haley huffed and fumed but she wasn't able to throw any other remarks when Brooke had almost her back turned to her. Perfect. And Lucas? Well… Lucas was obviously not too thrilled with her and Nathan. Too bad for him, he would have to suck it up, because tomorrow….well…tomorrow Brooke had a date with Nathan. How did that happen you might ask? Brooke wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't her fault. No.

Let's take things from the start. She really had no intention of doing anything with Nathan right then, not when she kept thinking about his own brother. Even Brooke wasn't that much of a bitch. Though she knew she really liked him she had decided to take things slowly and just hang out with him for a while until she got over the Broody obsession she was by now definite she was suffering from. Nate would have to wait. So when he had hinted on going out this weekend she had sweetly refused claiming she had a lot of things to do before the start of school on Monday. Nathan had accepted it gracefully, willing to take the rain check she offered and they went on without any awkwardness whatsoever. So how did she end up with a date for tomorrow? Rachel. Because the night couldn't end without that bitch meddling in her business now could it? Or was it the other way around? Whatever…

_Brooke was once again on her way back to their table after she had left with Bev to see Kelly and Kathy. She wasn't in the mood __for her silly friends that would be surely over-excited to see her but it sure beat sitting at a table with Haley glaring at her and Lucas just staring… Furthermore she had to prepare her return to school and the cheerleading squad. She almost forgot all about that with all the shit that had been going on tonight but Bev thankfully reminded her. So she was now getting back after ensuring she had both girls on her side, determined to convince Peyt to get out of there -seriously this whole night had gone long enough- when she came upon a very unnerving sight. Nathan was standing in the middle of the dance floor with…Tim was it? and a particularly sluttish looking redhead that was apparently trying to get his attention putting on a show dancing provocatively very close to him. Nathan was not really paying attention absorbed in his conversation with Tim and Brooke would have walked away smiling if only that sluttish redhead was not the particular redhead slut. The one and only, Rachel Gatina. Now, again the mature choice would be to walk away, but no one had ever accused Brooke of being mature. She eyed the situation in front of her thoughtfully. This night had been a nightmare and she was a nervous wreck. What better than blow off some steam at Rachel? Yeap…she had been through hell tonight and it was about time she gave some back. At that moment Rachel seemed like the perfect victim. Straightening her skirt and top, actually pulling the one further up and the other further down, Brooke put on one of her trademark dimpled smiles and sauntered over where the three of them were standing._

"_Natey, here you are!" She said with a baby voice as she went and laced her arms through his own, making sure to be loud enough for Rachel to hear._

_Nathan seemed surprised but grinned back at her happily. __Brooke noticed Rachel momentarily pausing her dancing and was sure that she heard her. Now, Tim, he was gaping._

"_Brooke Davis?" He asked confused._

_This question caused Rachel who had her back turned and __had only heard Brooke but wasn't sure who it was since she hadn't seen her approaching to swiftly turn around almost tripping on her high heels._

_Point one. Brooke thought satisfied__. The element of surprise was working she observed as Rachel did nothing but stare at her with her mouth agape. _

"_Hey Tim, nice to see you again. And oh my…Rachel, dear, what a__n unexpected surprise, I didn't know Tric offered these kind of services" She answered turning to Nathan for confirmation of her last statement._

"_You obviously know each other" Nathan chuckled amused._

_Apparently Rachel had recovered from the surprise cause she was the one to __speak next preventing Brooke from answering him._

"_Brooke Davis. Well, well, well, the rumors were true after all, the resident hoe of Tree Hill High is back in business" She said with a sugary smile._

"_Why? You've been on vacation this summer?" Brooke asked while the smirk never left her face. _

"_Why are you back Brookie, did the guys in LA finally got bored of you? Honestly, with its population I would expect you to stay there a bit longer"_

"_Why afraid of the competition Rach? Don't worry we're not in the same line of business. I'm not a whore"_

"_Oh please…you already made your way to my leftovers…" Rachel smirked looking at Nathan._

"_Hey!" Nathan who was so far just enjoying their "conversation" protested annoyed._

"_In my books, you're not supposed to consider someone your leftovers when he was the one that dumped your fat ass" _

"_Bitch" __Rachel hissed._

"_Loosing your cool Rachel-ho? You shouldn't, dear" Brooke said shaking her head with fake sympathy._

"_Whatever Brooke, at least we dated. What are you, another notch in his belt? Really Nate, I'd heard you have screwed every single female in school after we broke up but stooping as low as that…" She said pointing with her eyes at Brooke "Are you that desperate?"_

"_Shut up Rachel! You have no idea what you're talking about!" Nathan yelled angry now himself._

_Brooke smiled satisfied. Nathan was defending her and he was mad at Rachel. Point two. _

"_Whatever …I am impressed though Brookie…you sure work fast. Where did you find her anyway Nathan? Have you been checking the listings under H?"_

"_No, he stopped that after he saw the fat bitches listed there" Brooke replied._

_Tim seemed confused and was about to ask something but Nathan cut him off._

"_Not now, Tim!"_

"_But why? Let the poor guy speak, he may need her services after you finish with her…if you haven't already I would suggest the girls room, I'm sure Brooke will find it to her liking a bit classy for her perhaps but whatever. Although now that I think of it, she might be already too bored with it…" Rachel trailed off._

"_Well, you would sure know all about that, wouldn't you Rach?" Nathan asked now even more pissed off._

_Rachel obviously didn't expect Nathan to give her that kind of reply and for a second she seemed really hurt, only for second but it was enough for Brooke to see it. Point three. And now for the final shot…_

"_Don't bother, Nate" She said granting him a sweet smile. "Let's go we have to make plans for tomorrow"_

"_We do?" Nathan asked curiously taking his eyes of Rachel that he had been glaring at before._

"_Of course…so what time are you picking me up for our date?" She said stressing the last word._

"_But I thought…"_

"_Let's just say I want to thank you for…that" She said tilting her head towards a furious looking Rachel._

"_Well…I'm never one to say no to such an offer" Nathan replied smirking. "See ya, man" He said towards Tim as he left with his arm still interlaced with Brooke's without bothering to acknowledge Rachel. _

_Brooke turned and gave a smug smile to her. Game over._

So that is how she ended up having a date with Nathan tomorrow. She knew how that would piss the hell off of Rachel and she couldn't resist it. As they walked back to the table she thought how she had let Rachel get to her and against her better judgment sort of made her agree to a date she had refused only minutes before. Anyone could see that it was all Brooke's fault…but never one to question her impulses she decided that this was for the best. After all she had just managed a major blow to Rachel even before the school had started. Tim was there and their date would make news in no time. She had just laid the ground for a spectacular return to Tree Hill High. Everybody would be sure talking about her even before she had made her first appearance at school. Moreover, the actual date made her sort of excited. Nathan had gained major points the way he stood up for her to Rachel. Now the only glitch was of course…Lucas. The thing was instead of being nervous or really excited about her upcoming date she was mostly concerned with Lucas's reaction. Well…maybe this date would help in that direction as well. Maybe if she gave a chance to Nathan he would be able to make her forget her Broody obsession faster. So everything was finally looking good, Brooke had thought positive and almost happy for the first time that night. Talk about short-lived happiness…

When they joined the others, Brooke was relieved to discover that they were actually waiting for them to head home. Apparently Lucas was… _tired_ and Haley had to… _wake up early_ tomorrow. Brooke assured a hesitant Peyton that she was as well _tired_ and she really didn't mind that they were breaking it up this early. Despite her protests Peyton insisted that she would crash at her place again tonight. Brooke tried and tried to avoid it, she didn't want to face Peyton tonight, she just wanted to be alone and do something really unlike her…she wanted to…brood. She even went as far as mentioning that Lucas might want to spend the night with his girlfriend, really how she suggested that without chocking with her words was a miracle. However, Lucas had already made sure to sabotage that argument by telling Peyt he had to get back home early so as not to further infuriate his already angry father. So Brooke running out of valid excuses finally relented faking excitement at the prospect of another girl's night.

So they all headed to the parking lot and were about to say their goodbyes and head to their respective cars. And then it happened, not something big or that important really, but enough to make her consider pouring another glass of her drink every time she thought about it.

_Nathan approached her smiling._

"_So …about tomorrow" _

_Haley turned her head surprised. Lucas was talking to Mouth and thankfully didn't catch his brother's words._

"_Erm…how about you pick me up around seven?" Brooke said quietly trying not to attract attention. It wasn't that everybody was not going to find out sooner or later but with both Lucas and Haley on edge she opted for later when at least she wouldn't be there to take the burnt._

"_Sure__, seven sounds good."_

"_Seven what sounds good?" Peyton that had approached them asked with an intrigued face._

_Brooke groaned. Everybody had heard her and was now looking at them._

"_I'm picking up Brooke for our date, tomorrow at seven" Nathan replied with a huge smile._

_Brooke managed a half smile while her eyes found Lucas. The look he was giving her made her want to crawl up and die…She thought she had heard a "what the fuck" that came from Haley's way but she was unable to tear her eyes away from him. He was angry and hurt and he was looking at her with utter disbelief. Then his expression all of a sudden changed and she saw all his features harden. She fought the urge she felt to run and apologize to him. She had no reason to do that and it was also the fact that she just couldn't, not with everybody around._

"_A date really? Well done, Nate, well done" She heard Peyton say again and turned to smile at her._

"_Well done to you too Davis…" Peyton said shaking her head still smiling._

"_Oh come on, Goldilocks…let's go!" Brooke said still feeling Lucas's eyes on her back._

_She was about to drag Peyton to her car when Lucas caught her to it. _

"_Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" He asked as he leaned into his girlfriend._

_Peyton nodded her head and leaned in to give what looked like it would be a peck on the lips when Lucas grabbed her waist and pulled her in his arms. In front of the stunned group of friends he started kissing her passionately. Peyton obviously surprised at first soon placed her arms around his neck and got into their kiss ignoring the others._

_Nathan was the one to eventually fake cough and break them apart laughing. Lucas pulled away after giving her another short peck and glanced at Brooke smugly._

_Now as for Brooke… you weren't supposed to feel this kind of pain when a guy you hardly knew for a day was kissing someone else. As she watched him pulling Peyton she felt the wind getting knocked out of her. As the kiss progressed she just wanted to close her eyes and forget she had ever seen it. Only she was unable to do it…she just stood there staring at the two of them wishing someone would knock her out so she wouldn't have to see anymore. When Lucas pulled away and looked at her she wasn't able to mask her feelings. She was certain he saw the full effect that kiss had on her and obviously that made him extremely happy. _

_Apparently she had underestimated Lucas Scott. The brooding quiet guy knew how to give as good as he received. The stunned expressions of everyone around including Peyton herself only affirmed what she already knew…this wasn't their usual goodbye, this was a __show for her benefit only, courtesy of a very pissed off and dare she say it jealous Broody. So if he wanted to play that way…he should have chosen another opponent…no one beat Brooke Davis at these games. She was a pro and Lucas would have to learn that very very soon. But not right away…no. That would be too childish or too obvious, either way it wouldn't do. Revenge was a plate that was best served cold…and tomorrow Lucas Scott would realize exactly what messing with her entailed. _

_So deciding to act as the bigger person and honestly just to salvage anything she could since he already saw her reaction and going to kiss Nathan would only make hi__m more sure that he got to her, she just gave a small peck on Nathan's cheek and with a casual "Can't wait for tomorrow" addressed to Nathan accompanied by a particularly seductive smile she finally got into Peyton's car not even bothering to look at Lucas's way._

She had to admit that was the perfect end to a perfect night…only it still wasn't the end. Cause of course Peyton who had no idea on how Brooke was feeling inside, was in the mood for a girl talk…and the topic? Well...the Scott brothers, what else?

"_So…come on Davis, I know you're dying to say it, so out with it"_

"_Out with what?" Brooke that was looking out her window planning her revenge for tomorrow said confused._

"_Your opinion on Lucas of course! What did you think of him?" _

_Right…well…right now hating his guts was gaining ground. _

"_He seems nice"_

_Now the fact that Peyton didn't crash the car after that statement should have been considered as a miracle. Anyone that knew Brooke would know that something was definitely wrong. The girl that talked a mile a minute, especially when the topic was hot looking guys…had said Lucas was nice?_

"_He seems nice? That's all I get? Brooke…did you really hate him that much?" Peyton asked with a worried face._

_Brooke sighed…way to not be too obvious._

"_What are you talking about, Blondie? Of course I didn't hate him. I told you he seemed really nice. I just…didn't talk to him that much" Brooke shrugged._

"_Since when did you base your opinion about someone on you talking with him, Brooke?"_

"_Shut up, Blondie!"_

"_Come on Brooke…I'm sure you want to say more. For starters…don't you think Lucas is as hot as his brother? Or were you too blinded by Natey to notice?"_

"_Yeah, he's ok" Brooke shrugged again. _

"_Whoa…hold back with the enthusiasm Brooke!" Peyton said annoyed._

"_Come on Pey…it's weird to talk about your boyfriend that way!"_

"_Since when?!"_

"_Since now! I told you he looked fine…he's like you said…not so much my type." Brooke said trying to sound as convincing as possible. Yeah…great body, the most amazing blue eyes I have ever seen that completely render me speechless…and that adorable squinting thing he does…definitely not my type._

"_Look Brooke, I know your personalities are kind of…erm…opposite. Lucas is kind of closed off and I don't know how he seemed to you today. I hope you didn't think he was rude or he didn't like you. He's just that way at first, but as soon as he opens up you'll see how the two of you will get along just fine with each other. I'm sure you'll see what a great guy he is and you will like him too"_

_Was Peyton familiar with the phrase "be careful what you wish for"?_

_"It's not that_ _Pey, really. He really seems nice and if he's good to you, which he apparently is judging from what I saw today… then I'm perfectly fine with him. Don't worry!" See…lying to Peyton wasn't that difficult after all. Now if she could only restrain herself from banging her head against the windshield…_

"_Thanks Brooke, after all since he's your new boy-toy's brother…you have to get along with him"_

"_Okay….jumping to conclusions here! Nathan isn't my new boy-toy"_

"…_yet" Peyton continued._

"_We're just going out on a date…I just wanted to thank him"_

"_For what?" Peyton asked confused._

"_Never mind…big story…I will say only one word…Rachel"_

"_Ouch! She saw you?"_

"_Erm…she saw us. Or better yet I saw her trying to get something on with Nathan, and thought that it would be good to save him"_

"_That must have been fun…" Peyton said sarcastically._

"_I__t actually was!" Brooke giggled._

"_B. Davis what did you do to her?" She said shaking her head._

"_Me? Nothing…just made sure she knew that Nate was mine" Brooke replied smugly._

"_Oh…he's yours isn't he? Nice Brookie…so let's repeat that question again…isn't Nate your new boy-toy?"_

"_Urgh…fine. Maybe he is. I have to keep myself busy" So I can take my mind of your damned boyfriend!_

"_Oh…I'm certain Nate aims at keeping you very busy…starting tomorrow…This is so great Brooke, I'm so excited for you!"_

If only she could say the same Brooke thought as she downed the rest of her drink and refilled it one more time. That one she didn't manage to finish however as she drifted to sleep right there on the couch with the tv still playing at the background and plans of the perfect revenge for Lucas running through her head.

_**AN:**_ This was kind of a filler chapter I guess to tie up some loose ends from Brooke's POV. Now the next chapter…will mostly be Lucas's POV explaining what happened with Haley, oh, and an idea your lovely reviews I admit have put into my head…what if Peyton mentioned Broody to Lucas…?

Please keep R&R. Love you guys!


	12. Gaining a Better Understanding

_**AN:**__ Ok...so for this chapter let me give credit to my great reviewers who had the idea of letting Peyton slip about Broody to Lucas… So a special thank you to __**Brucas2006, **__**BrucasForeva **__and __**Dinci **__for your great idea and I hope I did it justice! Keep your suggestions coming guys they are helping me immensely! _

_You might find Lucas a bit out of character at this chapter…but…I don't really think he is. Let's just say I don't consider him as the perfect guy that can do no wrong…under given circumstances…he can __act as a first class jerk! _

_Finally again I'm not sure how realistic the whole lie he's telling to Haley is…but I couldn't think of anything better! lol_

_I hope you'll enjoy the chapter and please review:D_

* * *

_**Chapter 12**_

**_Gaining a Better Understanding_**

Taking the opportunity Brooke's date with Nathan offered them, Peyton had suggested that maybe she and Lucas could spend sometime alone. Lately they were always hanging out with Nate, Hales and Jake and with Brooke's arrival the time they spend together had further decreased. Now with school and basketball practices starting their alone time would become even less and she had missed having Lucas all to herself. Lucas had agreed, though not that thrilled she sensed, and suggested they stayed in, since Dan and Deb were at Charlotte for some business leaving the Scott's house at their disposal. So Peyton had rented some dvds and got at his house just in time to see Nathan leaving for his big date with Brooke. She had found Lucas absorbed in one of his books complaining about a headache he couldn't shake off since last night. He was really in a very bad mood and Peyton naturally attributed that to Dan. With school starting Dan was bound to become extremely pushy as usual and Lucas never handled that as well as Nathan did. And Nathan didn't really handle it that well. So she had left him read for a while, while she turned to her sketches leaving him to cool off. About an hour later she got hungry and they both prepared something quick to eat. All this time Lucas was even less talkative than usual getting Peyton really worried about him. However he was not willing to talk and Peyton accepted that, Lucas rarely talked about Dan anyway. The most information Peyton had was from Nate who was usually thrilled at the opportunity to vent out on Dan or Haley that apparently had learned a lot about the man being so close to both the Scott brothers. Finally they put on the first movie she had chosen a mystery thriller, and hoped that it would get Lucas distracted. It must have worked because he seemed really absorbed with the movie.

"So this was a really good movie" Peyton said turning to face Lucas who was sprawled on the couch beside her as the ending credits rolled off on the tv set.

"Yeah, it was cool" Lucas replied taking a glance at the time blinking on the vcr again. Almost midnight.

"Did you guess he was the murderer? I was totally blown away at the end" Peyton went on enthusiastically.

"Yeah…I didn't saw that coming" Who was the murderer again? He had lost track of the plot somewhere around the first twenty minutes into the movie. Maybe he should watch it sometime; Peyton really seemed enthusiastic about it.

"Do you want me to put on the other one, or aren't you in the mood?" He still seemed a little off to her to be honest.

"Sure, go ahead, just let me grab another aspirin" Lucas shrugged as he got up from the couch stretching his legs.

"Still with that headache?" She asked concerned.

Lucas nodded in reply and headed to the kitchen. The headache had actually intensified the last hour. It was getting late and still no sign of Nathan. What the fuck? How long do a movie and a dinner last anyway? That's what he had told him they were doing. Just a typical date…a movie and then dinner at the docks. But he had left at seven! Seven! That made almost five hours now! Where the hell was he?

Lucas rummaged through the kitchen drawers and finally found the bottle of aspirins he was looking for. Taking two he downed them with some water. He rubbed his temples gingerly. This headache didn't seem willing to let go. It had started the moment he realized who Cheery was and it kept going worse and worse last night. Both his conversations with Brooke about Haley and then later on with Haley about Brooke did little to help. Actually he could still hear both girls' yelling in his head. They had both thrown quite a fit and he was at the receiving end of their wrath. Haley would be furious to know what he was thinking but he couldn't help but notice how similarly both girls acted, maybe all women acted that way unable to carry a civilized conversation and resorting to hysterics. He still wondered who would win in a screaming contest between the two of them. It would be a tough break, Lucas thought with amusement. Now if someone told Hales she and Brooke had something in common…God help him. After their discussion the way she looked and talked to Brooke was…truthfully Lucas had admired Brooke's coolness. He sat all that time Haley kept insulting her expecting to see her lunge at her and thought that at least Nathan would probably enjoy the catfight that was bound to erupt. But Brooke…she just smiled and took one insult after the other like she was too stupid to realize what Hales was saying, playing the brainless slut card to the fullest. He felt like shit sitting there saying nothing…he wanted to make Haley shut up and stop hurting Brooke, but how could he? Especially since all he could do was pretend that he agreed with everything Haley said. Especially since he knew the things he had told her…the lies he had told her were one of the reasons she was acting that way.

_After the decision he and Brooke had taken about what they were going to tell Hales, __Lucas slowly made his way back to their table taking his time so he could think of some more details about the story he was about to tell her. He always wanted to be a writer so he could take this opportunity to see how good he was in fiction. He hadn't really thought of a coherent plan but he decided to improvise as time was of the issue. The longer he waited the bigger the chance Haley talked to someone about this. So he would go with the flow and hope he sounded convincing. He felt so nervous and the only thing that comforted him was that Haley would never in a million years guess what was really going on. He didn't know what she was thinking was going on but he was sure she would never imagine the truth, that he might …he might like…a girl like Brooke. He still couldn't quite process it himself. So whatever Haley was suspecting was far from the truth and that was a good thing he supposed. _

_He approached the table reluctantly._

"_Where did you go this time Luke?" Peyton asked._

"_I was at the back, checking if everything was ok" Lucas answered catching Hales disbelieving gaze._

"_Well, take a seat" Peyton suggested patting the place next to her._

"_Actually, Hales, do you think we could talk for a minute?" Lucas asked turning to her._

"_Sure" Haley nodded getting up and following him to a back room leaving a curious Peyton behind._

_As soon as they got in the room and Lucas closed the door behind him Haley turned to him looking pretty angry._

"_You were with her" She said accusingly._

_Lucas sighed. Ok…so at least he knew she had figured it out so he wouldn't accidentally be making things even worse by revealing more than she knew. Now he contemplated denying it…but he found it futile._

"_I was talking to Brooke, yes" He replied with a nod._

"_What the hell is going on here, Luke?" Haley yelled at him._

"_It's not as bad as it looks, really" He started with his pathetic excuses._

"_Really? Because to me it seems like you and your girlfriend's best friend know each other pretty well, while you pretend you have never seen each other! Tell me what I didn't understand correctly?" Haley asked crossing her arms in front of her._

"_We don't know each other that well" Lucas sighed leaning against the wall._

"_But you do know each other, right? You have met before! When? How? Why are you hiding it?!" Haley kept on yelling._

"_Calm down Hales, I can explain" He said calmly._

"_I'm listening!"_

"_Yes, Brooke and I have met before" _

"_When?"_

"_Last summer, when she came here" Lucas said avoiding looking Haley in the eyes._

"_How did you meet? Where?"_

"_It's not that important Hales"_

"_Oh I think it is! Why are you hiding it Luke? Why are you both lying at Peyton? What happened between the two of you?"_

"_Nothing…what are you implying Hales?" Great…he was now playing it like he was offended. Brooke was right…he did have a knack at this he thought with self-resentment._

"_Hell if I know! I'm trying to understand here, Luke! But honestly…" Haley said shaking her head._

"_If you would just give me a chance to explain!"_

"_Please do!"_

"_As I said we met last summer. Actually we kinda of got into this fight."_

"_A fight?"_

"_Yeah…erm…" Lucas hesitated shoving his hands in his pockets nervously._

"_What did the two of you fight about?" Haley asked again impatiently._

"_Well…come on Hales, you've seen her, do you think it is that hard for her to get to someone?" He asked hoping to get in Haley's good graces by making her believe he agreed with her on her opinion about Brooke. _

"_True, she is a self-centered bitch. She drives me crazy every time she opens her mouth or gives that fake smile of hers to me…She is unbelievable!"_

"_Exactly" Lucas cringed but agreed. What could he do anyway? Tell her what her smile and hoarse voice did to him?_

"_So what did she do to you?" Haley asked not yelling this time._

_It was working Lucas thought observing how Haley seemed to relax a bit. He was too guilty to feel any kind of relief about it. He was playing mind games with his best friend, using her dislike for Brooke to his advantage and he couldn't feel good about that._

"_I met her at mom's café. I was working a shift there when she came. I was the lucky one to get to serve her and she drove me absolutely crazy"_

"_How come she didn't tell us she had been there when we were there yesterday?"_

"_Maybe she forgot? I don't know" Lucas shrugged. Crap he had forgotten they met there yesterday._

"_So…" Haley said expecting more details obviously._

"_Well, she made me wait for her order for the longest time and then just ordered some coffee which she made me take back about four or five times always complaining about it" He could actually see her do something like that, but why did he still find her that appealing?_

"_God…she would totally do that! Didn't I tell you about her this morning? She thinks she's the queen of the world and everybody needs to cater to her whims! That spoiled bitch!"_

"_Yeah…you were one hundred percent right, I just didn't know who you were talking about then…" _

"_So did you throw her out or something?" Haley asked curious._

"_Erm…yeah… I finally got fed up with her and I threw her out"_

"_Good for you, Luke! How did she react?"_

_Now that he would receive a pat on the back for this was absolutely hilarious._

"_She threw her coffee on me…and left…with some name calling on her way" There…did that sound good enough?_

"_Oh my God! What a bitch!"_

_Lucas shrugged, he had told his story and now it was time to see what Haley would do. Apparently she believed it, but was that good enough to keep her quiet?_

"_How come you didn't mention you knew her when Peyton told us about her__, before she came?"_

"_I didn't know who she was. Really. I just figured that out today" Now this was actually the first truth that got out of his mouth he thought with a frown._

"_Oh…I guess you couldn't have known" Haley agreed in understanding._

"_When she came at the café last year… I just thought she was some spoiled rich girl visiting Tree Hill. I had no idea she was Peyton's friend. And then tonight, when we saw each other here, we remembered each other from then…and we were about to fight again I guess when we realized who the other one was"_

"_How?"_

"_Urm…I told her that my step-mom owes this club and she realized it. Then she told me who she was. And that was about the time when Skillz walked in on us"_

"_So why did you decide to lie?" Haley asked skeptically._

"_For Peyton's sake"_

"_Luke!__!" Haley whined._

"_Brooke said that the fact that we disliked each other so much was going to sadden Peyton and create tension among us. And I hate to admit it, but she is right. Peyton is so nervous about all of us getting along, this would only hurt her"_

"_So you agreed on lying?!"_

"_We thought we would just forget that it ever happened and try to start again for Peyt's sake! It wasn't such a big deal anyway."_

"_Yeah it wasn't! But your lying just made it into a big deal! You should have said something to us. I can't understand why you would agree on something like that! You know better than this!" Haley started scolding him._

"_I know, I know! I shouldn't have gone along with it…but you know…I…I panicked! I was afraid she might do something if she got angry with me" Now, see….lying is kind of addictive…when you start with it, you never know when to shut up._

"_Like what?" Haley asked frowning._

"_I don't know…she could twist the truth and turn Peyt against me." He half-stated half-asked Haley._

"_Yeah…I wouldn't put that past her. But do you really think Peyton would buy it?"_

"_She does trust her Hales. I don't know why, but she does. You know she would"_

"_Yeah…I guess you are right. I'm still not ok with this Luke. I still think it's very wrong!"_

"_I know…but Hales please, I have to ask you not to say anything" Lucas said pleading her with his eyes._

"_Luke…" Haley resented and then something changed in her expression. "What about this morning?" She asked suspiciously._

_Lucas __looked at her shocked. How the hell could she know about this morning? What was she talking about? _

"_This morning?" He asked trying to hide his panic._

"_Don't play dumb with me, Luke." She said frowning again._

_He felt like a little boy lying to him mother about braking her favorite vase with the looks Haley was giving him._

"_I really don't understand" He insisted trying to look as clueless as possible._

_Haley just shook her head._

"_Stop with the lies, Lucas. I heard you telling Peyton that you overslept this morning while you and I both know very well that you were at the Rivercourt since dawn"_

_Busted__! Now he hadn't seen this one coming and obviously he didn't have any idea on how to respond to it._

"_What does this have to do with what we're talking about?"_

"_You tell me!" Haley said sounding very angry again._

"_Nothing! How could it?"_

"_So today is just a day you decided you couldn't tell a single truth to your girlfriend? Since when do you lie this much Luke?! What is wrong with you?" _

"_Brooke has nothing to do with this morning. The reason I didn't tell Peyt about my going to Rivercourt was so she wouldn't worry."_

"_Why would she be worried?" Haley asked again having a real hard time believing him._

"_Because I told her how Dan had been lately, and she knows how we fight…and I didn't want her to know that I was so stressed out that I got up in the crack of dawn and went to play…She would only worry and stress about it herself" So at least the reasons behind his going to Rivercourt were true. _

"_Really?" Haley asked cautiously._

"_C'mon buddy! You do believe me, don't you? Why would I lie to you?" The fact that he was able to say all this crap and still look her in the eyes was really revealing about himself._

"_Okay Luke, I believe you. But still I don't know about the whole hiding it thing" _

"_Please…you know how it's gonna look now! And who knows how Brooke will react."__ He said sounding pretty much desperate…he actually was._

"_Fine! I won't say anything to Peyton" Haley agreed with dismay._

"_Erm…Hales…you won't say anything to anyone" Now he was pushing his luck…_

"_What?!" _

"_Nobody needs to know" He said firmly._

"_Nathan sure as hell does!" Haley yelled. _

"_No…he really doesn't. Why would he?" _

"_Because he's so into her! C'mon Luke you must have seen it!"_

"_So?"__ Yeap…he saw it alright! He himself had spent most of his time this evening thinking what he could do to change that…but telling him this fairytale wouldn't cut it._

"_So? So he needs to see her for the bitch she really is!" Haley yelled frustrated._

"_Do you really think this is gonna make any difference to Nate?" _

"_It has to!"_

"_Hales…you and I both know that Nate couldn't care less about this. He might even find it amusing."_

"_But…" Haley started protesting weakly._

"_Besides…it's bad enough you know…I wouldn't want to force Nate to have to lie to Peyton as well. We should keep this to ourselves"_

"_God, Luke! How did you get into this mess?"_

"_I have no idea…I just want to forget this whole thing. Please buddy, I'm asking you as a favor, forget about it" He would resort to begging if he had to, he was that desperate by now._

"_I can't Luke. I can't forget it" _

_Lucas looked at her horrified._

"_But you're my best friend. And though I don't agree with your actions, since this is what you want and since you're asking me…I really don't have a choice, do I? I'll stay quiet, Luke" Haley gave in._

_Lucas felt a huge surge of relief passing through him as he pulled Haley into a tight hug._

"_Thanks, buddy! Thank you so much!"__ He whispered._

So after this talk no wonder Haley was being so harsh with Brooke. But after all Brooke had agreed with this. They really didn't have that much of a choice. If only he wasn't feeling as guilty…about lying to Hales…about lying to Peyton and about…well about everything concerning Brooke. But whilst he was feeling like that, Brooke apparently was not that bothered since she managed to get herself a date with his brother.

He had been watching her with Nate all night long and when he heard about their date at the parking lot…he completely lost it. He must have looked like an idiot to her, he saw her looking at him and she could probably tell how much what she just did had hurt him. So without thinking about it that much, he tried to hurt her as much as she just had. So he kissed Peyton. He felt bad using Peyton like that, but this thought came to him only hours later when he was lying alone in his bed. What he felt when he broke that kiss and took a look at Brooke's pale face was pure satisfaction…that lasted about a second and then the guilt for hurting her once again settled in. He just couldn't settle with one mood where she was concerned. She always seemed to leave him in eternal conflict. He hated seeing her so hurt but he was thrilled to know that he had such power over her. He had no idea on what she was thinking or feeling…whether she liked or hated him, but he was certain she wasn't indifferent to him.

He had debated all night when they got home telling everything to Nathan but he realized that it wouldn't make any difference anyway. Even if Nate decided not to pursue something with her, surely someone else would. So he would have to accept seeing her with other guys and he was certain that as soon as the first shock passed he would be perfectly fine with it. The fact that he now saw her with his own brother stung a little more of course but he doubted it would last long anyway. She was just having her fun, they both were, he kept on repeating to himself.

And that's how he had spend pretty much his entire day seemingly reading his book while all he was doing was thinking about yesterday's events, thinking about Brooke. But when Nate left for their date and as the hours passed and he didn't return he was getting more and more anxious and frustrated. He couldn't and wouldn't think about what was happening with his brother and Cheery. No.

Sighing heavily he put the glass he was still holding in the sink and headed back to the living room and to his worried girlfriend.

"So what is the second movie about?" He asked with fake interest as he took another glance at the time.

"Another thriller" Peyton shrugged apologetically. "I really couldn't find anything else at the video store, everything was already rented out, it was a bit of a last moment when I finally got there. Brooke kept me busy all afternoon deciding what to wear at her big date"

"They should have been back by now, shouldn't they?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, I bet Brooke will call me the minute Nate leaves her, I'm sure she would want to give me all the details"

"How fascinating!" Lucas replied sarcastically.

"Oh, don't be like that Luke. She was really excited about their date and to be honest so am I. I mean it would be great if the two of them got together, don't you think?"

_NO! __There was nothing great about that…the idea was…disgusting. And Brooke was really excited? That was just great. Since yesterday he had a few hopes that she had agreed to this date only to spite him…and now Peyton said that she actually wanted it?_

"It's really not of my business. Or yours for that matter" He replied a bit harshly.

"I know that! It's not like I'm doing anything to force something between them…I just introduced them and they did the rest of it all on their own" Peyton said smiling.

"They didn't do anything, Pey! They just went on a date. For all we know it might have gone horribly. Have you thought about that?"

"Not really, I mean I think they're really good together. They have many things in common and they did seem to have a nice time yesterday at Tric's, so I don't see why the date would have gone horribly. Besides if it had they would be back by now" She said grinning with meaning causing Lucas's headache to go up a notch.

"Do you think you should give her a call to see if everything is ok?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why would I do that? She's with Nate, they're gonna be fine! Stop worrying Luke, what are you his father?"

"No…it's…I'm just saying he's late"

"Well, I'm sure they're just having a good time. They probably went back to Brooke's place after their dinner"

_Her house. Her empty house._

"Oh…you think?"

"Yeah…I can't call I would probably interrupt…God knows what!" Peyton giggled.

Lucas instinctively clenched his fists. This was a train of thoughts he had avoided at all costs the entire evening and here was Peyton now throwing it at his face. Of course they could have gone at her place that was what made his head pound. And now he was getting disturbing visuals he really didn't need or could handle.

"To tell you the truth, I'm kinda of relieved" Peyton continued with a sigh.

"Relieved? Why?"

"I was a bit nervous about the way this date would go but apparently I had no reason to" Peyton admitted reluctantly.

"But you just said that you thought they were good together, that yesterday they had a good time and that Brooke was really excited about it"

"Yeah…all that's true. And I still believe it…"

"But?" Lucas asked hardly containing his anxiety.

"Ok…do you promise not to tell anything about this to Nate?"

"Of course" He hurried to agree.

"Well…when Brooke met Nate she really liked him"

_Ouch._

"I mean she really really did. But…"

"But?"

"But there is this other guy…" Peyton trailed off.

Lucas froze. Peyton hadn't mentioned any guys in Brooke's life. But of course with her looks and dazzling personality it was sure there would be a boyfriend larking around.

"Brooke has a boyfriend?" He almost screamed not being able to hide his surprise.

"No…no, of course not. Nothing like that"

_Thank God! _

"Then what? What do you mean there is this other guy? Someone she left behind at LA?"

"No…not from LA. She met Broody here"

Lucas almost jumped from the couch. Did she really just say Broody? He could hardly believe it! Finally he would get some answers.

"Broody?" He uttered. Well, it was the logical think to ask.

"Yeah, she doesn't even know his name…but that's how she calls him. She met him yesterday morning" Peyton continued with the story.

"So…what about this… Broody?" He asked as casually as possible while his heart was beating so fast he thought it would explode any minute now.

" Well…you're sure you're not going to tell this to Nathan?"

"Of course, Pey…I already told you that"

"Seriously, cause Brooke is gonna kill me if this gets to Nathan"

_Probably she would kill her if she knew __she was telling him about…well him! But Peyton had no way of knowing that…_

"Really Peyt, I won't say a word to Nate. Trust me."

"Ok" Peyton nodded. "So it was not like it was such a big deal…they just had some fun together I guess"

_Great…if he was to hear that one more time he would probably scream._

"Then why did it have you worried?"

"It was the way she talked about him"

_Now they were getting somewhere._

"What do you mean?" He asked as he sat up in the couch better.

"I could tell he made quite an impression to her, and believe me Brooke is not one to be impressed easily"

"Really?" He asked raising his brows skeptically.

"Yeah…that's what worried me. She wouldn't stop talking about him all day yesterday. And not the way she usually talks about guys."

"What did she say?" Erm...maybe he should sound a bit less curious?

Peyton seemed surprised by the interest Lucas was taking into Brooke's love life, but since this subject was keeping him from the bad mood he had been all evening she decided to indulge him. He hadn't been that talkative since she got there and she was happy she was finally able to distract him. After all this concerned his brother as well so he was bound to get interested.

"Not that much…but it was quite unlike her. I mean she likes Nathan I can tell"

_Yeah we covered that part already…on with it…_

"But with Broody…it was really different. Ok so you're not telling Nate, but she seemed completely infatuated! I mean I really thought she had a crush on him!"

Now Lucas felt like getting up and doing some sort of victory dance. He knew it! She could deny it all she wanted! She could drool over Nate as much as she liked, but what he saw in her eyes when she looked at him that couldn't have been a lie. She felt it too, the connection he felt to her even if they spent so little time together. It meant nothing my ass…she wouldn't be that determined to keep it a secret if that was the case. Now he could finally understand why she didn't want to tell Peyton. What he still couldn't understand was why if she felt that way for him she was right now on a date with his brother!

"Is that so?" He finally uttered.

"Yeap…she seemed so happy and excited when she talked about him. I really thought Nate didn't stand a chance." Peyton admitted.

He fought really hard to keep the goofy grin that threatened to spread on his face.

"So I am happy to see that I was apparently wrong." Peyton continued.

"So you think you got the wrong impression yesterday?" He asked again feeling very disappointed. This talk with Peyton was supposed to help him understand not confuse him even further.

"I don't know it seems like yesterday night Nate might have managed to change her mind"

Lucas rubbed his forehead. Here came the headache again. Nathan didn't change her mind. It was the night's revelations that did the trick. What did he expect anyway?

"So she didn't talk about…that Broody anymore today?" He asked.

"Nope…well she didn't see him again, but he's at our school I guess she will on Monday. It was strange though…when I mentioned him today, she kind of …I don't know she seemed really upset and didn't want to talk about him. That's not like Brooke, believe me. It's really weird."

_Nope…nothing weird about it._

"Anyway she was willing to give Nathan a chance yesterday so perhaps it was just that, an infatuation with that other guy and she totally forgot about him today"

"You really think so?"

"I don't know…to be honest she confused me. I mean I know Brooke pretty well. I wouldn't think she would forget about him not the way I could tell he got to her yesterday. But she seemed to have. And Nathan can be quite charming when he wants to, so maybe he just got to her more."

"Yeah, maybe" Lucas agreed quietly.

"Anyway, just don't tell him. I wouldn't want to screw it up between them for something that Brooke has apparently forgotten."

"I won't" He said reassuringly.

So this conversation did little to help him with his confusion. But at least he was now sure for one thing. Brooke might like Nathan but she liked him as well, and apparently she liked him a _lot_. The fact that Peyton her best friend that knew her so well thought so was proof enough and he wouldn't let himself be convinced for the opposite no matter what Brooke told him. And if he thought about it a bit more calmly her behavior was not that confusing after all. Finding out who he was must have been a blow and she just turned to Nathan. Not the best thing to do…but Peyton said she liked him as well. Just not as much as she liked Broody…So all and all, he was relatively happy. No actually, he was really happy. But where did that take them from here?

The noise that came from the doorway broke his trance. Apparently Nathan was fumbling with his keys. Lucas sighed relieved making himself more comfortable at the couch as Peyton was still busy putting the new dvd into the player. Nathan was finally home, the dreaded date was finally over! But then as the door opened he heard loud laughter coming from the hallway. Yeap…Nathan was home alright, but apparently he didn't come alone.


	13. Who’s Fooling, Who?

_**AN: **__I'm glad you liked the previous chapter, your comments were amazing as usual!!! Keep them coming, please! It makes me so happy to know that you're enjoying this story!_

_About this chapter...first it took me forever to get it done. Second, I think it went completely different from where I was planning for it to go. Third, I'm not at all happy with it! I know I say this a lot but it's just that I'm rarely pleased with the end result of my writing... Hopefully, you will still enjoy it a bit...and if you don't then please forget about it and I'll try for a better one next time:D_

* * *

_**Chapter 13**_

_**Who'**__**s Fooling, Who?**_

"Oh my God! You didn't!"

"Hey, they dared me to do it!"

"You're crazy!" Brooke said laughing loudly.

"Says the girl that went skinny dipping at her neighbor's Jacuzzi!" Nathan chuckled.

"They didn't see me, did they?"

"You're one of a kind Davis!"

"Why thank you!" She said with a sly smile.

"C'mon get your cute butt to my room, and I'll be right there with our beers"

"Where is that?" Brooke said as she stumbled into the living room laughing. "Oups! Hey you guys!" She said giggling to a bemused Peyton that was kneeling in front of the tv set and a particularly brooding looking Broody that was sitting on the couch silent.

"Upstairs! Last door on your left!" Nathan yelled from the kitchen. "Try to get the right room, Lucas's is right across mine!"

"Urm…I found them, the guys are here!" Brooke yelled turning her head back to the hallway.

"Here?"

"I think I'm in the living room" Brooke yelled giggling a little.

"Be there in a sec!" Nathan replied.

Peyton was looking extremely amused at her friend who was carrying a "conversation" with Nathan by yelling through the house, mostly ignoring her and Luke. Needless to say Lucas didn't find any of these the least bit amusing.

"Well, hello there, Brookie. Had a nice time?" Peyton said smiling after Brooke who was leaning against the doorframe obviously concluded her exchange with Nathan and turned her attention back to them.

"Yeap…we sure did, and the best part hasn't even come yet!" Brooke said grinning suggestively to Peyton while stealing a glance at Lucas who hadn't said a word to her yet.

"Oh Brooke, we so didn't need to know this!" Peyton groaned.

Lucas could feel his blood boiling. When he heard them come in he was shocked and frustrated that apparently his anguish about their date would not be over yet. But at the same time he was glad they had decided to come here instead of going to Brooke's place where they would be all alone. They knew he and Peyton were there so he assumed they came to hang out together. Then he heard his brother telling Brooke to head to his room…and after that everything was a bit fuzzy until Brooke's last statement about the best part of the night yet to come. She was just messing with him, right? They wouldn't…they couldn't!

"Hey Bro, Pey!" Nathan said as he appeared and stood leaning behind Brooke too close too her for Lucas's liking.

"Natey, bout time you two got back. Lucas was starting to get worried." Peyton said smiling.

"I was not!" Lucas protested indignantly.

"Really? What time is it?" Nathan asked confused.

"You don't know what time it is?" Lucas asked almost shouting.

"Hm…not really, B?" Nathan said turning to Brooke.

"Late?" Brooke shrugged innocently.

Peyton shook her head enjoying the sight the two of them made. Lucas was way pissed by now bordering furious. B? When the hell did Brooke become B?!

"You crazy kids, what have you been up to?" Peyton said.

"Nothing much…" Brooke said still smiling innocently.

"Yeah…the usual" Nathan nodded smiling slyly. "So what are you guys doing?"

"We were just about to put a movie. Wanna join us?" Peyton offered.

"Erm…actually… we already have some plans…come on B, the beers are getting warm!" Nathan said dragging Brooke from the door.

"Yeap! Sorry P. Sawyer…maybe next time. C'mon Hotshot…time to show me how good you are!"

"Oh…just wait Davis…just wait and see"

"Promises…promises…didn't you say the same at the Blue Post? All talk and no play…I'm so disappointed!" Brooke said shaking her head mockingly.

"Oh, you're so gonna get it now!" Nathan said as he turned and started chasing a squirming Brooke upstairs. Soon the loud banging of a door echoed through the house leaving it again in silence.

Lucas sat at the couch completely stunned. What the hell had just happened?

"Were they drunk?!" He asked bewildered.

"I guess you could say they were a bit tipsy" Peyton agreed smiling.

"Tipsy?! They were wasted!" He said with his voice rising.

"Oh, c'mon you're overreacting"

"Am I? Brooke could hardly stand straight and Nathan was all… giddy!" He shouted.

"Well, Brooke said they were at the Blue Post, right? Apparently they had a few drinks"

"And what…where did they go now?!" Lucas stuttered looking at the ceiling with dread.

"Nate's room?" Peyton shrugged.

"What…they're drunk!" He yelled in frustration.

"Well…"

"You don't think that they're actually…?" He asked not hiding his horrified expression.

"With us here? I doubt it." Peyton said shaking her head.

A crushing noise came as a reply followed by some of Brooke's screeches and loud giggles.

"What the hell?!" Lucas exclaimed as he abruptly got off the couch.

"Hm…maybe we should go for a walk or something and let them have their privacy?" Peyton suggested.

"Privacy to do what?!" He yelled back at her.

"Erm…you know…" Peyton said shifting uncomfortably.

"But…she's drunk!"

"Not really…"

"Aren't you the least bit concerned about your friend?" He asked surprised and hoping to get Peyton to do something…anything!

In all honesty, she was mostly concerned about Nate. Brooke wasn't really drunk. Nope, Peyton had seen her drunk too many times to see when she was really in trouble. Tonight Brooke was just a bit tipsy as she had already told Luke. The thing was…well, Brooke sometimes lead people to believe that she was far more drunk than she actually was. Why? But to get away with what she did. She could blame everything on the alcohol the next morning. Peyton was wondering why she was doing this now…why did she want Nathan to believe she was this drunk? Of course she could not explain all this to Lucas. Not with the bad impression Brooke had made to him. But if someone was going to be taken advantage of tonight that someone was certainly not Brooke. Peyton was sure her friend knew exactly was she was doing, but what was that?

"Brooke is a big girl, she can take care of herself" She said quietly.

"Not on the floor!!!" They heard Brooke yelling from upstairs and soon another banging noise came along with loud curses from Nathan.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Lucas yelled unable to contain himself anymore.

"Erm…so this is awkward" Peyton mumbled.

"Are we just gonna sit here and…?"

"Stop…stop it Nate!" They heard Brooke screech again stopping him mid-sentence making him stare at the ceiling seething.

"I told you she was drunk, maybe she doesn't want to…" Lucas started again hoping to put Peyton into gear, after all Brooke was protesting, wasn't she? But before he was able to conclude he was once again interrupted by her voice.

"Come to bed, already!"

Lucas believed he was just experiencing what a stroke felt like.

"I really think we should go" Peyton murmured.

There was no way in hell he was going to leave that house and let them do what they were apparently doing.

"I told you to stop! This is not fair!" Brooke screeched again while apparently laughing really hard.

"That's it!" Lucas said fiercely and left the room making his way really quickly up the stairs.

"Luke!" Peyton yelled trailing after him but he didn't stop to listen.

Without thinking of knocking or even listening what was going on behind Nate's closed door he just burst it open and found himself standing there completely dumbfounded. Nothing could ever prepare him for what he saw in that room.

Brooke and Nathan were both sitting cross-legged on his bed, fully-clothed each with a joypad in their hands, fully engrossed in a game of NBA live. They were playing with the freaking playstation!

They were both startled when the door had flung open and were now looking at Lucas surprised. Actually Nathan was looking surprised. Brooke looked like the cat that had just swallowed the canary. And Lucas…well he was looking at both of them like an idiot.

"What's wrong man?" Nathan asked worried.

"Urm…I thought…I…" Lucas stuttered unable to come up with any rational explanation without looking like the idiot he felt like at that moment.

"Yeah?" Nathan asked sounding annoyed.

"We…we heard some crushing noises. I …I wanted to check if everything was okay" He answered lamely.

"Oh…that? We were trying to set up the play station so as not to sit on the floor and I kinda overturned a chair…Sorry" Brooke shrugged giving him her most innocent smile.

"Try like you stumbled over two chairs…" Nathan mumbled.

"Well, you were the one that almost broke the closet door!" Brooke said turning to him and shoving him playfully.

"Erm…I will just go now…and…yeah" Lucas said and left the room closing the door behind him as fast as he could.

"We'll try to be more quiet!" Brooke yelled behind the closed door.

Lucas groaned and as he turned he came face to face with Peyton. Great.

"They are playing NBA live" He said with his head down.

"Oh!" Peyton said surprised. "But Luke what was with that…what if they weren't playing?" She asked as they both headed downstairs again.

"She is drunk, Pey! I couldn't let Nate take advantage of her. She is your best friend! You know how he is! Do you really want that for her?"

Now how was she supposed to answer to that when it would only color Brooke in even darker shades?

"I told you she was not that drunk. Really, Luke, trust me, she can handle Nate. But you know…it's kinda sweet how you want to protect her" Peyton said smiling gratefully.

Yeap, that was him, the sweetest fucking boyfriend ever. The sweetest boyfriend that would have probably beaten his brother into a bloody pulp, if he had found him with his girlfriend's best friend. Oh…and as for the part about Brooke handling Nate? He had no doubt on that whatsoever. That girl was really something, the way she had just played him? Unbelievable!

* * *

Brooke was absolutely ecstatic. Her plan had worked like a charm, way better than she ever imagined. His face when he almost broke that door down was just priceless. This night couldn't have gone any better! 

The date with Nate had gone unexpectedly well. Actually it had gone great. She had her doubts that this would be the case since even as she was getting ready she couldn't stop thinking about Lucas. But thankfully she had been wrong; Nate had made sure she had the perfect evening. Apparently the charms run in the Scott family in abundance.

When Nathan had showed up at her house looking absolutely gorgeous, Brooke started believing again that maybe this date was exactly what she needed. They first went to the movies and he had let her pick the film they were going to watch. She had chosen a comedy and they had spent two fun hours constantly laughing and teasing each other. After the movie he had taken her to one of his favorite restaurants at the docks. She really liked the place, it was cozy and not too fancy but still somewhat elegant. They had taken a table overseeing the sea and this time he had taken the initiative of ordering for both of them. The food was great and they made small talk all through dinner. Brooke was really enjoying herself, Nate was really charming and treated her like he actually cared about her and what she was saying nothing like most of the guys that usually approached her just to get laid. He was funny and smart…not book smart…but smart. They exchanged embarrassing stories about their childhoods and even more embarrassing ones about their teen years. Ok…so she had to admit the stories that intrigued her the most were the ones that included Broody…but hey…you can't overcome an obsession in one evening, can you? Anyway, Nathan was one crazy kid, just like her, and she felt really comfortable around him. She had to admit she didn't remember the last time she had had such a good time with a guy. No…that was a lie. She remembered the last time all too clearly, it was of course with Broody at Rivercourt…but whatever. After they had finished their dessert it was her that proposed they went somewhere for a drink, since she was enjoying herself this much she didn't feel like ending the date that early. Nathan had suggested the Blue Post and they headed there for some beers. They eventually decided to shoot some pool and after she had kicked his butt for the forth time he challenged her on another game. So he proposed a match of NBA live.

Now up to that point Brooke had almost completely forgotten about one Broody that had occupied her thoughts all day yesterday and today until Nathan had showed up. Almost being the operative word here. As she heard Nathan's proposal her mind went to overdrive. This was the perfect opportunity she was looking for to take her revenge for his little display last night. She knew Lucas and Peyton would be at the Scotts' house chilling this evening. After momentarily shivering at the idea of what they might be doing there…she decided to take the risk because it was just too good of an opportunity to waste. So she accepted Nathan's challenge and by teasing him of being afraid of loosing to a girl _again_, she made him propose that they would do that right then, tonight, inviting her to his house.

After that the second part of her plan started forming. She ordered another round of beers and some shots and started acting like the drinks were affecting her. Of course she had become a bit tipsy but she started acting much more drunk. The show had begun. She did feel a bit guilty putting this act for Nate that had done absolutely nothing wrong, to the contrary he had done everything right. But Lucas had to learn not to mess with her, and it was not like she was hurting Nathan with what she did. Nope, the only one that would get burnt by this game was Broody.

When they arrived at the house she started laughing and talking loudly so as to interrupt Lucas and Peyton on whatever they were doing. She felt immensely relieved to find them at the living room obviously in the middle of watching some movies and not in his room making out or worse... So she started with the innuendos, all the time acting like she was wasted and a quick glance she took at Lucas told her that he was totally buying her act.

The final part of the plan was of course the screaming and screeching she did upstairs…along with the chairs she of course overturned on purpose. That's why she had to make Nate believe she was drunk…otherwise he would just believe she was crazy, screaming so loudly without a reason. She could only imagine how Lucas must have felt listening to all that. The plan was actually to let him squirm for a good while listening and seething, imagining God only knows what and then of course going down and explain what they had been actually doing leaving him feeling completely stupid for getting all worked up over nothing. But never in her wildest expectations, was she expecting the reaction she got out from him. Of course he would be pissed…she was very confident about that, after all it was the revelation that she had a simple date with his brother that triggered that disgusting display yesterday…if he was thinking that they were actually screwing each other…he would be livid. But that he would actually come in the room in the way he did…Wow…just wow!

* * *

Peyton had put the movie on and she was now crawled up at his side with her head leaning on his shoulder. Lucas was once again not watching the film but just trying his best to calm himself down. He really made a fool of himself. Damn her! How did she do that? Well, what he did, how he had reacted…it really wasn't such a big surprise. Considering the headache he had just thinking of what she and his brother were doing on their date…actually having to hear them doing it…or at least believing that this was what he was hearing…well it was just too much to handle. 

He wasn't thinking when he went into his room, he didn't even stop to think of what he would actually say or do when he got there, all he knew at that point was that he was going to stop it one way or the other. He took a sad look at an oblivious Peyton. Things had somehow gotten way out of control. What had just happened made him realize it. He was jealous, no use in denying it. So…next step in realization process, simple: He had a thing for Brooke…no actually he was… as unsettling as the thought was he had to admit it…he might actually be falling for her. Shit.

What about her though? Was this all just a game to her? He winced at the thought and then focused on what Peyton had said earlier, coupled with what Brooke had just done. The fact was she didn't actually do anything with Nathan she just made him think that she did. As mad as he was with her and oh was he mad all right, he couldn't help but be overjoyed that it had all been just a trick. So, she didn't want to do anything with Nathan…at least not yet. Of course it was just their first date…hopefully it would also be their last but he really doubted it. Anyway…on with the positive thinking, she did this just to mess with his head…so…she did all this for him. And why would she do that if she didn't care? He and Miss Davis should have a serious talk promptly before things got even more out of hand.

* * *

It didn't take long after they started watching the movie until Brooke and Nathan came down to the living room to join them. 

Peyton paused the movie and turned to them.

"So how did the game go?"

Nathan's lips turned into a cocky grin and he turned to Brooke looking at her expectantly.

"He won" She shrugged indifferently.

"I won? Let's try I totally kicked your butt, B!"

"First of all, you kept tickling me…and that was just not fair!" Brooke whined.

"Excuses…excuses…"

"Stop gloating, mister, or would you like me to tell just how _I_ kicked your butt earlier?" She replied kinking her eyebrow at him.

Nathan winced.

"You kicked his butt at…?" Peyton wondered.

"Argh…Thanks a lot, B! We played some pool at the Post and…"

"And yours truly majorly kicked Hotshot's cute little ass!"

"A girl beat you at pool? Seriously Bro?" Lucas asked chuckling. By now he had considerably calmed down thanks to his conclusion that what Brooke did aimed only at riling him up…so he felt much better and rather pleased so he was able to ignore the _cute little ass_ comment.

"She plays like a damn pro! She totally hustled me!" Nathan protested.

"Boys…boys…can't handle a girl being better than them in any type of games…"

"So pool is your type of game, Brooke?" Lucas asked staring pointedly at her hinting at one of their previous discussions.

"One of many…" She replied with a sly smile.

"Any other games I should avoid?" Nathan asked with a slight frown.

"Well…NBA live unfortunately is not one of them"

"Yeah…that much I figured" He chuckled.

"As for the rest...you'll just have wait, Hotshot!"

"Not for long I hope"

"We'll se about that...Anyways…fun as this had been, I got get going. Blondie, you think you could give me a drive?"

"Sorry Brooke, I walked here"

"Great…well, Nate mind calling me a cab?"

"Why won't you drive her?" Peyton asked him.

"In his state?" Lucas said shaking his head.

"I'm not that bad…but…erm…I left the car at the bar Luke…you have to drive me there tomorrow to get it" Nathan said shrugging apologetically.

"Of course…" Lucas mumbled in irritation but relieved that his brother had the good sense to leave the car behind.

"So about that cab…" Brooke said looking at Nathan.

"I'll take you" Lucas cut her off.

"No, no, there is no need to, a cab will do just fine" She protested.

"Nonsense, Luke is right he can take you" Nathan agreed.

"Yeah, don't be silly Brooke you don't need a cab" Peyton chimed in.

"No, really, I don't want to cause any trouble." Brooke insisted.

"Your place is just a few blocks away; I'll be back in a few minutes, hardly any trouble." Lucas also insisted.

"But…"

"Give it up, B. Luke won't take no for an answer. And actually I would be a lot more comfortable if you didn't take a cab this late" Nathan said sounding concerned.

"Fine" Brooke agreed reluctantly. After her plan, she really didn't look forward to being confined in a car along with Lucas even if it would be only for a few minutes.

"Ok…let me grab my keys and we can go. Baby, you'll wait right?" Lucas said leaning to Peyton and kissing her forehead lightly causing a slight wince on Brooke.

"Of course." Peyton replied smiling.

So Peyton intended to spend the night…perfect, now she had really good material to fill her nightmares.

* * *

Nathan walked Brooke to the porch while Lucas headed to the garage to get his car out after getting his jacket and keys. 

"So…" Brooke said feeling slightly nervous as she was peeking behind her shoulder to check whether Lucas had pulled the car out yet. She thought he had had enough for one night and it would be for the best to not see the goodnight kiss that might follow. It would follow right? God…why was she so unsure of herself lately? The night had gone swimmingly and Nathan was attracted to her…so? Maybe the fact that she couldn't settle her head on one of the two Scotts caused this major confusion.

"I had a really good time tonight, Brooke" Nathan said seriously.

"So did I" She replied with a shy smile.

"You would consider doing it again sometime soon?"

"I would really like that" She replied shyly.

Nathan's face broke out in a sincere smile.

"So…" She mumbled staring into his deep blue eyes nervously.

Nathan gave a light chuckle and leaned his face close to hers bringing their lips to touch in a soft kiss. He pulled back and smiled at her.

"Goodnight Brooke"

"Goodnight Nate"

Brooke turned and saw that Lucas had apparently already brought the car out of the garage…and most likely had just witnessed their goodnight kiss. Well, it was not the kind of kiss she had witnessed yesterday…so he should consider himself lucky.

* * *

She opened the passengers door and got in the car. Wordlessly Lucas started the engine and pulled off the driveway and into the road. Brooke gave him a side glance but he seemed concentrated in his driving. She slouched back in her seat and turned her eyes to her window wondering what was going through his head. But he didn't even bother to look her way and they were both submerged in a very uncomfortable silence. Her house wasn't really that far away and approximately ten minutes later they were pulling over at her driveway. 

"Erm…so thank you for driving me Lucas" She said ready to get out of that car as soon as possible.

"Actually, I should thank you" Lucas said with a smile.

"Thank me?" She said turning at him surprised.

"Of course. Putting up that entire show just for me…shouldn't I feel honored?"

"What show? What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Cheery…we are already lying to everyone else around, can't we at least try and be honest with each other?"

"I would be honest with you if I had a clue about what're you actually getting at"

"You're not even drunk, are you?" He asked shaking his head with amusement.

"I never claimed I was" Brooke answered indignantly.

"You were good though, I have to admit it, you were really good" Lucas continued with a chuckle.

Brooke looked at him puzzled.

"I mean I completely bought it. Every bit of it. But it makes me wonder you know…" He said with a thoughtful expression.

"Wonder what?"

"It makes me wonder why you would do this. Why would you go into all this trouble just to make me believe you were…well, you know…with my brother" He said looking at her curiously.

"What gave you the idea I was doing anything to convince _you_ that I was doing something with Nate?" Brooke asked feeling uncomfortable but looking at him like he was crazy.

"Brooke…I may have fallen for it, but I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am." He replied with a smug smile.

"I never said you were stupid"

"But you didn't answer me."

"I didn't answer what?" She asked getting frustrated. This was not right, he was supposed to be angry and hurt not smiling like a damn idiot looking so pleased with himself.

"Why you did it. Why did you try to make me think that, when nothing was going on?" He repeated still smiling smugly.

"You're so full of yourself. Do you think everything I do relates to you?" Oh, she wanted to wipe that smug look of his face so badly.

"Doesn't it?" He asked raising his eyebrows at her.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked in disbelief.

"Hey…I admit it got to me…the descent thing to do is that you admit you did it to get to me" He replied like it was nothing.

"A. You didn't need to admit anything; the way you barged into the room was all I needed to see. B. Why would you think I did it to get to you? "

"I just know you did, Brooke, no need to deny it" He said still smiling.

"If you're so keen on this honesty crap Luke…then let me ask you something as well. What would you have done if you had found us doing what you thought we were doing?" She asked looking at his eyes seriously.

"The question here Brooke is why instead of pretending didn't you really do what I thought you were doing?" He replied turning serious as well.

"I asked you first" Brooke said biting her lip while her heart had started racing under his intense gaze.

"Since you obviously knew that it would bother me…what the heck…since you already knew it would piss the hell out of me, you could probably guess what I would have done in the other case as well" He said with a rueful smile staring straight ahead of him.

"That's why I was only pretending" Brooke whispered as Luke's head snapped back to her side.

"Brooke…"

"Goodnight, Lucas. Thanks for driving me here" She said and quickly got out of the car not giving him the chance to reply.

He watched her run up the stairs and quickly unlocking her door. She opened and got in, just before closing it behind her she turned and gave him a sad smile. Lucas gripped the steering wheel tightly and with a frustrated sigh started the car and sped off back home.

* * *

When he got back there, Nathan had already gone to bed, leaving Peyton alone at the living room planning to finish watching their movie when he got back. However, he was clearly not in a mood for a movie and using his headache as an excuse he suggested they turned in as well. 

They both got undressed leaving only their underwear on, and climbed into bed. Peyton got close to him and started kissing his neck and soon after found his lips. As the kiss deepened the image of a bubbly brunette appeared in his head offering him her dazzling smile. He tried to shake it by kissing Peyton more fiercely and letting his hands roam over her body but the damn girl was just stuck into his head. Her face when he had almost kissed her back in Tric before realizing who she was had now made its appearance. Lucas groaned in frustration and pulled away from Peyton. There was no way he would be able to through with this when all he could think of was Brooke.

"I'm sorry, babe. My head is really killing me. I don't think I can do this right now" He said apologetically.

"Oh! I'm sorry baby! I should have known. Let's get some sleep. You'll probably feel better in the morning" Peyton said snuggling closer to him.

"Yeah…probably" He agreed wrapping his arm around her.

Soon he heard her rhythmic breathing indicating that she had fallen asleep. He however doubted he would have such luck. Staring at the ceiling he prepared himself for a second sleepless night in a row. Yeap...tomorrow his headache would be so much worse.


	14. Looking for the Perfect You

_**AN:**_ Oh my Gosh! We've reached 200 reviews!!! I can hardly believe it! I am so grateful to you guys and I'll make sure to give some personal responses on my next update! I was planning on doing it this time, but I think I delayed this update long enough as it is. Again I just want you to know how much I appreciate your comments! You guys make my time worthwhile! Thank you so much! hugs

So…in one of my reviews you suggested I get a beta. I've been considering this for a while myself and I think it would be a very good idea. Now the thing is I have no idea how to find one! LOL

So if anyone of all of you who are reading this story would be interested in becoming my beta and helping me out with this story please send me a personal message and I will contact you for details. Hm…what would I expect from my beta? Well, mostly to be strict and actually find flaws in what I write…an easy task I might add:D I would like help with the storyline and my writing style as well as with grammar and stuff, yeap with pretty much everything! About my update rate…I think I'm doing a good job with it, but I wouldn't expect from you to have the free time I have so no rush in that department…I'm sure we'll be able to work something out. I guess if you're writing something yourself it would be much better. Oh…and I guess this is mostly addressed to the brucas fans out there cause obviously this is going to be brucas…somehow! LoL

Now…that's what I would like from my beta, whoever is interested can tell me what they want from me :)

On with the next chapter…finally!

* * *

_**C**__**hapter 14**_

_**Looking for the Perfect You**_

Brooke groaned burying her head into her pillow as her alarm clock kept piercing her ears. She knew she had to get up and hurry to get ready for school. That's right, Monday was finally here and Peyton would be soon there so they could go together. Yesterday evening this was all they talked about both excited to be in the same school again. At least that it was all they talked about after Peyton had finished giving her the third degree about her date with Nathan. Brooke was more than happy to provide all the details except for a convincing reason on why she was acting like she was drunk. She should have known Peyton would be able to see through her but she was so preoccupied with Lucas's reaction she…well…she simply forgot about it. First she started acting clueless and accusing Peyton of being crazy. After a while she sort of admitted it, saying she did it without realizing it. Then she just said she didn't want Nathan to push her into anything…that in particular got a lot of laughs out of Peyton. Finally she became desperate and used Broody as an excuse. Yes, you heard it right Broody. She told Peyton she wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet with either of them, not until seeing Broody again, and this way she could have her fun and still maintain her options open. That of course caused a lot of scolding from Peyton who turned all protective towards Nathan, but heck…better protective of Nathan than jealous-hurt and angry about Lucas.

When Peyton had left her she had spend her time thinking about the ride with Lucas and what she was going to do when she saw him again. She regretted telling him what she did of course. She was feeling awfully towards Peyton. After the thrill of the game had passed she realized that what she did and what he did…well, they were already hurting Peyton. It was her fault; she provoked it, and looking at Peyton's eyes listening as she talked worriedly about Luke's bad mood was more than she could take. But she managed to comfort her and only cried her eyes out in shame after Peyton had long gone away. Since feeling ashamed and sorry for herself didn't make anything better, Brooke came to a decision. This game with Lucas was the first and last she played. No matter what he did she wouldn't let him get to her again. But since fighting with him all the time would probably drive her up the walls making sticking to her decision very difficult she decided something else as well. She would have to make nice with Lucas. Who could tell, maybe it would actually work.

"So?" Brooke asked getting out of Peyton's car taking a tentative look at her appearance.

"You look bitching, ho!" Peyton said with approval. "What about me?"

"Same there, Blondie"

"Good" Peyton nodded. "So are you ready?"

"Let's go get them!" Brooke exclaimed while interlacing her arm with Peyton's.

The two girls left the parking lot and started walking confidently to the school's entrance. Peyton with her mini skirt showing off her long legs and a causal t-shirt with some emo band on it and Brooke with a pair of low hanging jeans and a tight top made quite a few heads turn their way. They started towards their lockers walking right in the middle of the crowded hall commanding with their eyes the bystanders to spread. However they were hardly able to make a few steps as they were blocked by a lot of excited students that obviously recognized Brooke.

"Oh my God! Brooke?"

"Davis is that you?"

"Hey girl, how have you been?"

"Brooke! It's so good to see you again, girly!"

"Davis, looking good as always!"

Brooke gave sweet smiles to everyone, well almost everyone, the ones she considered worth her attention at least, and returned their greetings. It was not like anyone insignificant would dare to talk to her anyway.

At the other end of the corridor Haley was standing with Jake, Lucas and Nathan. All four of them could hardly miss the commotion that the two girls' appearance had provoked.

"Oh, God! Look at her!" Haley groaned.

"Yeah…me and every other guy around…" Nathan said sounding annoyed as he took notice of all his fellow students eyeing Brooke and Peyton appreciatively.

"She has you acting all jealous already?" Jake asked chuckling.

"Yeah man, we would see how cool you would be if that was your girlfriend out there!" Nathan said.

"She is not your girlfriend Nathan!" Both Lucas and Haley interrupted with fervor.

"Whoaa...what are you two synchronized or something? She may not be my girlfriend just _yet_ but if I have anything to say about it she will be very very soon"

"So I take it your date went well?" Jake asked being the only one of the three that wasn't looking at Nathan open-mouthed after that statement.

"It went great. Brooke is really amazing. We had a very good time"

"Great, dude. Well…good luck with her"

"I don't think I'll need it" Nathan said with a cocky smirk.

Jake smiled nodding in approval. Haley looked disgusted and Lucas tried to ignore his brother and just stared at Brooke who was now being cornered by a bunch of football players. Peyton was there beside her and she was attracting some wishful looks as well, but mostly they were occupied with Brooke. Nathan apparently noticed this as well.

"Ok…now they are getting too close" He said irritated watching as the group of guys almost hid Brooke who was standing in the middle.

"Like she's not enjoying every single moment of it" Haley said dejectedly.

"She's not doing anything, they're the ones breathing down her neck" He protested.

"Get real, Nate! She's causing all this!"

"Well, I don't care. I think I will go interrupt. C'mon man, aren't you the least bit annoyed?" He said turning to Lucas.

"Me? Why? What do I care who's coming on to Brooke?" Lucas asked looking surprised. _Was he that obvious?_

"Not Brooke you idiot! Peyton. These guys are all over both of them." Nathan explained chuckling.

"Uh? No…they know Peyton is with me. Why would I be worried?" He replied absent-mindedly as the circle around the two girls tightened even further.

"Well, they don't know that Brooke is with me. So bout time they found out" Nathan said resolutely and approached the group of guys that had encircled the two girls making his way next to Brooke by mostly pushing the others out of his way.

"Good morning, B" He said with a smile.

"Good morning, Hotshot!" Brooke exclaimed cheerfully.

"I'm here too, Nathan!" Peyton said pretending to be mad.

"Yeah…morning Pey…Luke is over there" He said pointing to the others standing by the lockers.

Both Brooke and Peyton laughed.

"I would say you're trying to get rid of me" Peyton said mockingly.

"And not only you…" Nathan mumbled not that discretely shooting some glares to the guys that had still to get the hint and leave.

Peyton shook her head and Brooke giggled.

"Ok guys…we'll talk later…" She said smiling to the disappointed guys around her. "Come on, Hotshot, Blondie, let's join the others"

"Sure" Nathan said putting his arm around her waist and pushing her gently through the still lingering guys not forgetting to throw some threatening looks at them on his way.

Lucas watched the scene silent wondering if he was more jealous of Brooke's random admirers or of Nathan acting all jealous and protective. As soon as he saw his arm settle at her waist he concluded it was the second. The three of them joined them and they all greeted each other while Peyton gave a soft peck to Lucas.

"That was very sweet of you, Natey" Brooke told him smiling.

"What?" Nathan said pretending not to understand.

"Oh Nate, you were so obvious!" Peyton said laughing.

"Oh, back there? I did it for Luke's sake"

"Right!" Brooke said smirking while Peyton continued laughing.

"What? They were all over you, Pey. I had to defend my brother's honor!"

"Cut it out, bro!" Lucas finally spoke.

"Please…They were only interested in Brooke…I was just an innocent bystander" Peyton replied "Besides, Lucas is not the jealous type, right baby?"

"I have no reason to be, do I?" He asked taking his eyes off Brooke at last.

"Of course not!"

"Good" He affirmed giving her another chaste kiss.

"So, what do you have for first period, Pey?" Brooke asked wanting to get away from there fast.

"Chemistry, you?"

"Calculus…what a great way to start my week…" Brooke whined.

"Hales and I have the same class" Nathan intervened.

"Really? Well, maybe calculus won't be that boring after all! Shall we go, handsome?"

"Of course. See you later guys…" Nathan said while Brooke laced her arm to his offered forearm and turned to go satisfied. As an afterthought he turned back and added "Coming Hales?"

Haley huffed and after giving a chaste kiss to Jake followed after them while the other three also dispersed towards their respective classes.

* * *

Lucas scanned the school yard one more time when he spotted her sitting on the grass under a tree alone. She seemed to be scanning the crowd on the yard as well, but she was probably not looking for him like he had been doing since the start of their first period. He had got the information that they shared their free period from Peyton who he had questioned as discretely as possible. Taking a look around to make sure none of their closest friends was around he started towards her taking small hesitant steps. Somewhere half distance she looked his way but either she didn't see him which was quite improbable or she just acted like she hadn't and turned her head the other way. Great… Well, it was not like he was expecting her to greet him with open arms. The last time they'd talked, alone that is and really they barely said hello in the morning, had been in his car when he drove her back home on Saturday after her date. So it was obvious that they had left things kind of…well they hadn't exactly fought which must have been a good thing. But he guessed they weren't exactly on good terms either. Actually, he couldn't decide how they had left things. Pretty much he had admitted that he was jealous of her and she had admitted that not only she knew but she did it just to get him to act that way. She had also sort of admitted that she hadn't done anything with his brother because of him. So how were they supposed to act around each other now? Taking a deep breath and bracing himself for the worst, he decided that it was about time he found out, closing their distance even further. 

He stood in front of her and she raised her head looking at him in question and not at all surprised confirming that she had seen him approaching before. _Well, at least she hadn't run away._

"Hey, Brooke" He said giving her a small smile.

"Hello, Lucas" She responded but without the smile.

"Look, before you start yelling at me and tell me to get lost, just let me say that I came to give you the heads up on Haley, just in case she confronts you we would need to get our story straight" He said defensively without pausing for a breath afraid she might find a chance to interrupt him.

Brooke bit her lip and broke out in a wide grin. He looked so cute the way he was squirming in front of her.

"So…are you just gonna stand there? My neck hurts, Broody!" She said looking up to him and pointing to a place next to her with her eyes.

Lucas looked at her with wide eyes. No yelling, no get right to the point and…Broody? What the hell?

"Erm…yeah thanks" He said as he lowered himself at her side leaving a good distance between them.

"So, how is your day going so far?" She asked letting her eyes wonder around the other students in the yard.

"What? Erm…good I guess" Lucas responded still looking extremely confused.

"Well…mine was a total bore…I mean honestly…first day in school and I had to start with calculus….and then physics…who finds that stuff interesting anyway?"

"Oh…" He said looking at her like she had grown a second head.

"C'mon, Broody! Don't look at me that way!" She said giggling at his confused face.

"Sorry…I just…" Lucas mumbled looking at her even more confused than before.

"Have I been that much of a bitch to you, Broody?"

"What? No, no!" He quickly denied.

She raised her eyebrow at him and he chuckled.

"Ok…maybe a little"

Brooke laughed as well.

"So let's try this again, how is your day so far?"

Deciding to not question whatever miracle had caused this change he started to play along.

"You mean besides having to listen to everybody talking about the return of the amazing Brooke Davis?"

"Well…I am pretty amazing…" Brooke agreed teasingly.

"Of course…"

Brooke stung her tongue out at him.

"Well…it wasn't that boring as you make it sound. But c'mon I'm sure you're more than enjoying this"

"What, classes?" She asked surprised.

"Well…no, I meant everybody talking about you. I wasn't in a single class where I didn't hear your name" He said chuckling.

"Ahh…that. Yes, it's kinda fun" Brooke giggled.

"I bet" He said shaking his head.

"They won't do it tomorrow, it's just that I'm news now, so…"

"I have a feeling you, Brooke Davis, always find a way to make news"

"Hm…are you somehow offending me now Broody, cause I am not that smart as to get it!" She told him mockingly.

Lucas laughed.

"Nope…I'm not offending you Cheery. I'm just stating a fact. And trust me, you are that smart"

"Well, tutor-girl would certainly disagree"

"Who?"

"Tutor-girl…Haley or Hales?"

Lucas started laughing.

"Oh, she's gonna love this one!" He said shaking his head.

"I know!" Brooke giggled again. "I can't wait to see her face!"

"When did you come up with it anyway?"

"Hm…during calculus"

"So you found a way to have fun in class after all"

"Of course, I was talking with Nathan during class…"

"Oh…" Lucas muttered.

"So he told me he was gonna need a tutor this year if he wanted to keep his grades up to be in the team…and he also said that Haley was one of the best here…so….don't you think it fits her?"

"I think I'll call the 5th on that"

"Admit it! It fits her!"

"Fine! It does…but if you tell her that I said this…"

"She probably won't believe me anyway…" Brooke shrugged smiling.

"Yeah…about that…" Lucas said turning serious.

"Ok…let's have it. What did the cheer-slut do to you, Broody-boy?"

"Cheer-slut?" Lucas repeated frowning.

"Me of course!" Brooke said with her patent smile.

"Brooke…please…I already feel like crap…you don't have to make it worse you know" He replied seriously.

"Hey, I'm kidding! Really Lucas, you shouldn't feel bad, this was a decision we made together."

"Yeah…but I was the one that said all that crap about you" He said with a sigh.

"Now I am curious. Come on, spill"

"Promise you won't get angry?" He asked hesitantly.

"I will if you won't start talking already!"

"Fine, well…I told her we met at my mom's café."

"I thought it was your step-mom's cafe" Brooke interrupted.

"Yes…well…it was hers. But when she left, Deb took over"

"Really? That's weird."

"No, not really. She and Deb were quite close friends. I'm assuming you know about...erm…" He started saying a bit uneasy.

"Yeah, Peyton told me" Brooke interrupted, giving him a small smile.

"Anyway, I told her you came there while I was working and…"

"You work at the café?"

"Yeah, I sometimes pull some shifts there. It helps with my allowance and it sure as hell beats working at the dealership or at the garage. So…"

"Your dad's dealership?" Brooke interrupted once again making him smile.

"Yeah…" He said with a nod.

"And the garage?" She inquired again.

"It's Keith's"

"Ah…your uncle" Brooke said in understanding.

"Exactly." He agreed and was about to start his story again when Brooke interrupted him one more time.

"But you went there on Thursday, when I came to the café to see you guys"

"Well, sometimes I help Keith around" He said amused with her constant questions.

"You know about cars?"

"Uh-huh. Since I was a kid, Keith used to take me there and teach me stuff. I've learned some things through the years. Nathan helps around as well"

"Really? I would never picture Nathan under a car's hood"

Lucas shrugged.

"You think I can go on now?" He asked her with a smile.

"Oups! Sorry! I didn't let you talk! I keep interrupting! I hope you don't think I'm too nosy! I mean…"

"Brooke…it's fine." He said stopping her nervous ramble. "Anyway, I told her…" He started again but this time he stopped himself. They were getting along just fine and he was afraid what he had to say might ruin things again.

"Yeah?" Brooke prodded.

"That you were …erm…a difficult customer"

"Broody, if you're not gonna give me any details I don't think it will do us any good…"

"Right. I told her that you had me waiting for your order for a long time and…"

"It usually takes me a while to order" Brooke giggled.

"And then you just ordered a coffee" He continued while playing with his fingers staring at his hands intently.

"Did I?"

"It's not just that…" He continued without raising his head.

"What else did I do you?"

"You complained about the coffee so I had to bring you a new one…"

"Ok…"

"Five times." He mumbled.

Brooke just broke into laughter.

"Oh this is good! Go on, Broody"

"This is about it…then I just threw you out…"

"That's it? There is no way I would let you throw me out without…"

"You threw your coffee at me" He said looking at her with guilt.

"Oh my God!" Brooke said erupting into uncontrollable laughter.

"I'm really sorry, it's all I came up with at the time and…" He started apologizing as he had done too many times around her already when she stopped him mid-sentence with the most irrelevant of questions in his opinion, as she had done all the times before.

"Was it hot?"

"What?"

"Was the coffee hot?"

"I don't know…I didn't say…what does it matter if it was hot or not?"

"It would have to be hot, steaming hot. Otherwise I would have taken the ice-cold water" She said assuming a thoughtful expression.

"Then it was definitely steaming!" Lucas chuckled.

"Good" Brooke nodded in approval.

"So you're not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"Well…"

"Maybe because you described me like a totally spoiled bitch?"

"See!" Lucas said groaning.

"Cheer up, Broody! I'm kidding. Actually…though a bit extreme…I'd say I could actually see myself doing this!"

"Nah…" He objected but without any conviction, after all that was what he thought as well.

"Oh yeap! Especially if my waitress was tutor-girl!" Brooke said with a smirk.

"I say you wouldn't"

"And I would say you're scared of pissing me off!"

"Hm…that as well." He admitted smiling "Tell me Cheery, what brought this change of attitude? Not that I'm complaining but…"

Brooke looked at him thoughtfully.

"I guess…we will hang out a lot together whether we like it or not, with you being Peyton's boyfriend and…"

"You and Nathan?" He asked softly.

"Perhaps…I don't know, it's too soon to tell" She said avoiding his gaze.

"Yeah" Lucas nodded half-heartedly.

"So…it would be easier if we tried to get along, right? I mean we did get along when we met…it shouldn't be that difficult. It doesn't have to change, does it?" She asked him looking in his eyes.

"No, it doesn't. You're not that bad of a person, Cheery"

"How nice of you to notice, Broody!" She said sarcastically.

"I guess I could put up with you…if you stayed away from any particularly hot liquids" He said acting all serious.

"Oh, you're such a jerk!" Brooke said as she pushed him causing him to almost fall back.

Their eyes met again as Lucas had grabbed her hands and was dragging her with him on his way down. Despite their pleasant mood and the smiles they had plastered on their faces they could each discern sadness into the other one's eyes. They quickly settled back to their places and Lucas continued looking at her hopefully.

"So I guess this means a truce, right?"

"We were not at war, Broody…it was just…"

"Complicated" Lucas tried.

"It took us by surprise" She agreed and they both stayed silent for a while.

"So what were you doing before?" Brooke asked breaking the silence.

"Looking for you obviously"

"Oh, yeah? I've been here since the start of my free period"

"Needed some relaxing?"

"Relaxing? I was in the middle of a very important business" She said assuming a serious expression again.

"Really?"

"Yeap!"

"A very important business sitting under a tree in the yard?" He said raising his eyebrow skeptically.

"But of course, until you interrupted me that is!"

"Okay….and what might that serious business I interrupted be?"

"Well…I've been looking for a Broody" Brooke said in all seriousness.

"You've been what?!" He said in wonder.

"I've been looking for a Broody…" She repeated.

"_A_ _Broody_? How many of us are out there?" He asked squinting his eyes in confusion.

Brooke giggled.

"I'm hoping for at least two of you at the moment" She continued.

"Am I supposed to understand any of this…?"

"C'mon Broody! I thought you were smarter than this! I have to find a Broody to show to Peyton!"

"Ahhh…" He said in understanding.

"See, it wasn't that difficult!"

"Right…so how are you exactly supposed to find _a broody_?"

"Well…I'm currently looking through the guys coming in and out of here trying to spot someone that will be suitable"

"Any luck yet?"

"No! I've been here for half an hour and no one will do! I mean seriously how difficult is to find one hot blonde guy in the entire basketball team?" She whined pouting her face.

He was distracted by her adorable pout but still a particular word caught his attention.

"Hot?" He asked with a smirk.

"Argh…decent looking?"

"You said hot." He repeated still smirking.

"No I didn't. You must have heard me wrong"

"You think I'm hot" He insisted.

"See usually, I would blame this on the low lighting in whatever hole it was we met…"

"Usually, huh?"

"or my drunken state…"

"But…" He encouraged her.

"But…since we met in broad daylight and I was totally somber…how about I plead temporary insanity?"

"If that's what you like to say to yourself" He said shaking his head.

"You're so enjoying this!" She said with another pout.

"I would be…if I didn't have to find _a Cheery_ myself"

"For Nate?"

"Yeap…"

"Well…what do you say we help each other out with this one, Broody?"

"You want me to help you…how?"

"For one…I wouldn't have to go and ask each remotely cute blonde guy I see whether he's in the team or not!" Brooke said frustrated again

"You did that?!" He asked between laughter

"Four times…" Brooke muttered. "And why would anyone think that this question is actually my way of showing I'm interested…it's completely beyond me!"

"Oh Brooke!" Lucas exclaimed hardly being able to talk through his laughter.

"What? Damn…why did I have to get into so many details!" She groaned.

"So let me get this straight…we are looking for a hot…"

"Decent looking" She corrected.

"Hot…blonde player of the basketball team?" He repeated again smirking.

"Hm…yes…plus one that I wouldn't have met before" She relented.

"I think we have ourselves a problem" He said seriously.

"Why? Peyton said half of the basketball team is blonde!"

"Yeah…but no one is as hot as I am"

That last sentence earned him a hard smack on his arm.

"If you keep this up Broody, I think I might reconsider the whole being nice to each other thing!"

"No…no…ok, I'll help…I'll try…if you help as well that is" He said smiling.

"Sure…what did you tell Nate about me?" She asked intrigued.

"Luckily, I didn't give as many details. We are just looking for a new girl in school…no color preferences"

"A hot new girl, right?" She corrected kinking her eyebrow at him.

"Did I say that?" He asked playfully.

"Broodyyy!" Brooke whined.

"Fine, fine…you could say a hot new girl" He paused "an amazingly beautiful new girl" He concluded staring into her sparkling eyes.

"Lucas…" Brooke whispered quietly feeling her breath catch in her throat.

"Sorry" He said averting his eyes.

"So…anyone in mind?" Brooke said after a while with a casual tone again.

"What?"

"Any of your team mates that would do for the job?" She explained. "Oh, and they have to not know Peyton that well either, I wouldn't want them to give it away"

"Not someone both of you wouldn't know…Maybe I should think of some of the younger guys…they don't play much of course but they might do"

"I could always say he lied…maybe that would be better." Brooke shrugged.

"And after we find them, a broody and a cheery ...what are we supposed to do with them?" He asked her looking puzzled.

"What do you mean, what are we supposed to do with them? We are going to show them to the others, from a safe distance preferably"

"That's it?"

"It would be good if Peyton actually saw me talking to him, but I think that won't be difficult"

"And she's going to be satisfied with that? She won't ask you to introduce him to her?"

"She might…but it was just a guy I hardly talked with…I don't think she will insist. You can do the same for Nathan" Brooke said biting her lip nervously. She had thought of what she would say to Peyton again and decided to use Nathan as an excuse this time around and say that she was no longer interested in any broodies! She would just hope that Peyton would buy it.

"And won't she wonder why you lost interest in him this fast?"

"I never said I was interested in you...him!" Brooke objected.

Lucas looked at her with meaning.

"Fine! I will just say I hadn't figured out what a jerk he was when I met him at first...but luckily I realized it soon enough! Not far from the truth now! Satisfied?" She almost yelled at him with fire in her eyes.

Lucas gulped and nodded his head sadly. Brooke sighed and turned her head away from him. He was afraid he had ruined the whole being nice to each other effort and tried desperately of thinking something that would take them back to where they were minutes before. Teasing her seemed like a good idea.

"Hm…hey…there is a new girl" He suddenly said training his eyes on a rather chubby looking girl in the distance.

"Where?" Brooke asked not very interested but still scanning the people around them.

"Her, over there" Lucas said trying to point discretely by tilting his head that way.

"The one with the blue shirt?" Brooke asked shocked, forgetting the fight that had been about to erupt.

"Yeap. I think she could pass off as Cheery" He replied looking amused and feeling relieved this was actually working.

"Lucas! She is fat!" Brooke protested.

"She's isn't that fat"

"She is nothing like me!"

"I still think she would make a good Cheery" He said with certainty.

"Are you saying that me and her are alike? Are you calling me fat, Broody?!"

"I wouldn't dream of it" He said teasingly.

"Ha!…How about him?" Brooke said pointing towards a guy she had just spotted ready to retaliate.

"Who…?" Lucas said searching towards the direction she was pointing.

"That one! He has a nice body…is he in your team?"

"No that's…heyyy that guy has pimples!" Lucas said indignantly.

"So?" Brooke asked innocently.

"So? You think Peyton is going to believe you fell for that guy?"

"What?!" Brooke screamed.

"What?" He repeated confused.

"What did you just say Lucas?!"

"What did I say?" He asked again trying to figure out why she was suddenly looking so pissed off again!

"You said I fell for…I didn't! Why would you say something like that?"

"I didn't. I…it was just an expression. I meant…" Shit! How did that came out anyway?

"Hm…just watch out, Broody" Brooke said shooting him a glare.

"I am!" He exclaimed frustrated.

"What's that supposed to mean again?" She asked with a scowl.

"It means you certainly know how to keep me on my toes, Cheery" He said exhaling heavily.

Brooke kept staring at him in question.

"I'm afraid that if I say the wrong thing…or you get what I say wrong…you might…" He trailed off.

"I don't bite!" She protested with a pout.

"Yeah…don't know about that…yet" He chuckled "but you can certainly hit hard. Really for a girl? Whoaaa" He said rubbing his arm.

"Are you afraid of me Broody?" Brooke asked teasingly.

"Honestly…I don't know what to expect from you. Take this for example. I never thought after the way we left things on Saturday that we would be here now talking and laughing…and not…well you know…yelling at each other!"

"Don't get too used to it." She said with a smirk.

"Nah…I know it's just a momentarily lapse"

"Well…if you're good, it may last…"

"See…keeping me on my toes…" Lucas said shaking his head with a laugh.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Brooke asked looking rather confused.

"Until I met you, I would have answered that it was a bad thing for sure…"

"At least you're not bored with me!" She pouted.

"Bored? I don't think anyone could be bored around you, Brooke Davis"

"Why thank you, Lucas Scott…" Brooke said beaming at him.

* * *

Across the school yard sitting at a picnic table a dark haired well-built latino guy was observing Brooke and Lucas who were talking and laughing with each other. 

"Who's that?" He asked the girl that was sitting with him at the table reading a book pointing with his eyes towards them

"Who?" She asked raising her head from her book.

"That girl, the one sitting with Scott" He explained.

The girl spotted the pair and started explaining.

"Uh…that must be Brooke Davis"

"Who?"

"She's Peyton's friend, she used to live here but moved away before we came and now she's back for senior year"

"Mhmmm" He said licking his lips.

"I don't wanna hear it, Felix" The girl said turning her attention back to her book.

"What? I didn't say anything" He shrugged innocently.

"I know that look" She said tiredly.

"Well…she is one fine piece of ass" He said devouring Brooke with his eyes.

"Do you think you could not talk this way in front of your kid sister?" Anna, who was the girl sitting with him, said disgusted.

"Sorry, sis. So what's the deal? What's up with her and Scott?" He asked looking very interested.

"You're right something is up with her and Scott but not that Scott"

"What do you mean?" He asked again.

"I mean Luke is Peyton's boyfriend and she's her friend…so they're just hanging out I guess"

"I say he's interested in much more than hanging out with her" Felix objected with a smirk.

"Just because you're an ass that doesn't mean Lucas is as well"

"Oh sis, when are you gonna get over your crush on that jerk?"

"I am over him!" Anna protested.

"Ha…just like he's not into her" Felix said with sarcasm.

"I'm outa of here" she said closing her book with a loud thud and getting up from her seat.

"Wait…Anna" He stopped her.

"What?" she asked still annoyed.

"What did you mean about something is up but not with that Scott?"

"Rumor has it, Nathan is into her. I heard they had a date in the weekend and today Nathan just about threatened some guys in the hall because they were merely looking at her" Anna shrugged.

"Is that so?" Felix said looking at Lucas and Brooke suspiciously once again.

"Yeah…Rachel is being a total pain today, constantly bitching about that Brooke and Nathan"

"Well…I think I should meet with this Brooke really soon"

"Felix, Peyton and her gang hate you. There is no way you stand a chance with her. Not to mention that she's apparently got her eyes set on Nathan"

"We will see about that kiddo, we will see" Felix said smirking at his sister and returned his attention to the pair sitting in the distance.


	15. My enemy’s enemies…

**AN: **

First of all, thanks to everyone that offered to help me with this fic, I really appreciate it guys and I'm sorry I couldn't accept everyone's help!

Secondly, per usual, big thanks to all my awesome reviewers!

**l-a-c-18:** I really really love long reviews and yours are amazing! I think you might be on the right track with what you have in your mind…we'll see :)

**apple01:** I don't know how soon the exposure will happen but about Felix…well I think this chapter will satisfy you! Thank you so much for all your kind words!

**BrucasCheerCaptain:** Gosh! What can I say? Your comments always make my day! Thank you so much! I try to visualize what I write like you said, if that makes me insane…yeah I probably am! Now seeing Chad and Sophia actually doing this…yeah that would be an au where I would be a script writer…but hey…in my mind it works:D

**Brucas46Forever: **I already told you how much I appreciate your comments. Can't take credit for illustrating Lucas's hotness though…it's just impossible to miss. Though…this makes me think I should work on Nathan a bit more…he's hot too right?

**flipflopgal, brucas831,****cutiek88, erika x3,** **carrocarro92, catcat51092,** **Brucas2006: **I'm so glad you enjoyed the fluffy BL moments! I'll try to keep adding some cuteness before the drama ensues:D

**BrucasForeva, ****BrathanFan4Ever****, Ashley-In-Wonderland: **Calm down! LOL! No I don't think there is gonna be a Brooke/Felix! Ewww! I wouldn't do that to Lucas nor Nathan!

**Laurrr, Ali213, princetongirl, TwinkleTot 69, BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE, brucas333: **I'm so glad you're enjoying this fic! Thank you so much!

Most of you have been reviewing regularly and your encouragement is what keeps me going! Thank you!!!

Now…to the most important announcement, let me introduce my amazing new beta **lonesome dreamer **who did a really great job with this chapter and I really can't give her enough credit! Thank you so much girl for your time and effort! hugs

You'll appreciate her job more as soon as you'll see the length of this chapter! LOL

So after a really long author's note, on with the longest chapter I've written yet. I hope you'll enjoy and please don't forget to review :)

* * *

_**Chapter 15**_

_**My enemy's enemies…**_

Brooke groaned as she looked at her alarm clock that was beeping loudly once again. She really hated having to wake up this early for schooland the thought of the things that awaited for her today at school made her loath it even more. 'Cheerleading tryouts' she thought with dread. . God…the last thing she wanted to do was to face Rachel. Maybe pissing Rachel off by going out with Nathan should have waited until after the tryouts. Now Rachel would be even more determined to keep her off her teamand even worse, possibly humiliate her in front of everyone in the gym She had this_ feeling _that today was bound to be a really bad day. After wasting a few of minutes contemplating whether to get up or just stay in bed and fake sick, she finally managed to get up and head for the shower She took a steamy hot bath hoping that the hot water would calm her nerves. If she was this nervous now how the heck was she going to hold it together until the end of the day?

After finishing the quick shower that apparently wasn't a big help she covered herself with a towel and she let her mind wonder to the only subject that could distract her: Broody, the original one, by the way. Unfortunately, yesterday's attempt at finding someone to present as Broody had been unsuccessful. Of course that didn't mean she didn't enjoy every minute of the time she had spent searching for him and she was definitely looking forward to spending some more time today doing it again. Naturally, Lucas would be also there to find his Cheery. Yeah, he had no luck in finding someone either. Hm… that might have had something to do with her since she kept finding flaws in every girl they saw…but whatever. Ok…so about Broody, Lucas…The being-nice-to-each-other idea was apparently working great. It was easy for both of them to forget about everything else that created all this mess when they were alone, just the two of them, and just have a great time. It was funny how she felt already so close to him. When the others were with them, things got a bit more difficult though. She still couldn't help the pang of jealousy she felt every time he kissed Peyton. And from the look in his eyes she could see he himself was still not okay with the whole Nathan thing. But at least they were civilized now and didn't try to play with each other's mind and as much as they denied it, their hearts as well.

Glancing at the time she frowned. She had to hurry since she was supposed to go to school earlier today. She was supposed to meet Lucas at the same place he had found her yesterday, so they could resume with operation 'search for Broody & Cheery' before the others arrived. Peyton was already bugging her when she told her that she didn't see Broody all day yesterday and she supposed that Nathan was doing the same to Lucas. Today they had to find them, time was running out.

* * *

They were both sitting under the same tree for a while, watching the students as they slowly arrived at school. This gave them the opportunity to eye almost every student that went to Tree Hill High until finally they were able to find the people they were looking for.

"So we'll go with that Daniel guy and what was her name again?" Brooke asked.

"Uh… Alison?" Lucas said scratching his head.

Daniel was a sophomore that had joined the team last year but spent most of his time on the bench. He was blonde and well-built, but nothing too special as Brooke had noticed. She would never hear the end of it when she would present him to Peyton. As Lucas had said the guy was quite shy and didn't hang with the others, rarely even making it to the after game parties. So at least he fit the "broody" label and the more he stayed away from all of them the better. Alison was a freshman that had just moved in Tree Hill. Tall, blonde and slender. Quite impressive Brooke had to admit. She had actually gone to talk to her for a while in order to get the necessary information out from her. Lucas felt extremely grateful that he didn't have to approach the girl he never met before himself and also extremely amused by the way, that Brooke offered all too eagerly to relieve him of the specific task.

"Right. I still say she's too skinny. She might be anorexic you know"

"Brooke, she wasn't that skinny! Besides, you agreed she was the best we could do. You already said no to about 5 others! It's not like it makes much difference anyway"

"Yeah…and you seem to go for the skinny blonde type…" She said and then frowned as she realized the dig she had just made for her best friend.

He looked a bit shocked but before he had time to respond she carried on.

"It's just…you know…she's supposed to be me, someone that would be more like me, would be much better."

"First of all, no one will know she's supposed to be you and let's face it, it's not like we could find someone that could even come close to you!"

Brooke stared at him with wide eyes and he gave her an apologetic smile.

"What about Daniel, are you satisfied with him?" He asked trying to break the tension he had caused.

"Daniel looks too young but ok…I guess he's edible"

"He's what?" Lucas exclaimed.

"You know…if he wasn't a sophomore I wouldn't mind taking a…" Brooke started but Lucas raised his hands and fervently interrupted.

"Can you please _not_ share this information with me?" He asked in frustration.

"Oops! Yeah…sorry…for a minute there I thought I was talking with Blondie"

"Gee, thanks!" He replied sarcastically.

"Sorry again, I think" She giggled.

"Nah…it's nice to know you see me like one of your _girlfriends_" He said in the same tone again.

"Not just one of my girlfriends, Peyton is my best girl!"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better because…?"

"C'mon! You're both blonde, you both brood, it's so easy to mix the two of you up!"

Lucas looked at her with a mixture of shock and horror on his face causing her to throw her head back and break into a loud laughter.

"Oh you little..!" He said as he grabbed her and started tickling her.

"Lucas, stop! Stop! Enough!" She managed to screech as she tried to get away from his grip unsuccessfully.

"Hm…now normally this sight should trouble me" Peyton's voice interrupted them making them almost fall over by their shock.

They both looked up and saw her standing over them with Haley next to her. Peyton had the biggest smile plastered on her face while Haley looked almost as shocked as they both felt.

"Pey! You're here! Finally!" Brooke exclaimed trying to overcome her guilt and stood up straightening her clothes.

"I'm surprised to see you here this early. I wasn't expecting to see you before the half of the first period" She said smiling.

"Erm…yeah I thought it wouldn't look too good if I was late today. With the tryouts and all, I wouldn't want to give Rach a reason to reject me"

"Good thinking." Peyton said with approval.

"Where's Nathan?" Haley asked Lucas a bit too harshly.

"Uh…I came alone. He should be here soon"

"Alone? How come?" She asked again suspiciously.

"Erm…I had an errand to run and I didn't know how long it would take me. I guess I finished a lot sooner than I thought" He said with a shrug.

"And exactly how did you two end up here?" Haley asked again ignoring the confused look Peyton was giving her.

"I was sitting here alone when Lucas saw me and was nice enough to keep me company" Brooke jumped in giving him a smile.

"Aw… Thanks, baby. That was really nice of you" Peyton said giving a kiss on Luke's cheek as she placed her arm around his waist.

Haley wasn't convinced; thankfully Jake's and Nathan's arrival was able to distract her. After they said their hellos, they started heading to their lockers. They walked by pairs forming a sort of line with Jake and Haley in the front, Nathan and Brooke in the middle, and Peyton and Lucas trailing off at the end. After making sure she had left a good distance between them, Peyton turned to Lucas.

"Luke, thank you so much" She told him quietly.

"For what?" He asked confused.

"For giving Brooke a chance. I know she didn't make the best first impression on you, but I can't tell you how much I appreciate that you're keeping an open mind" She said smiling gratefully.

"No need to thank me, Pey. Really. It was my fault. I hurried off judging her before I knew her anyway" He said nervously.

"Still, it means so much to me to see you two getting along. I told you that if you got to know her, you would see what a great person she truly is"

"You shouldn't worry about us Pey. We're going to be fine."

"Oh, I'm not worried anymore, not after what I saw outside! If only Haley could also give her a chance…" Peyton said sadly.

Lucas turned with a wary look towards Haley who was talking with Jake. He had some more explaining to do and he really didn't see Hales giving Brooke a chance anytime soon.

"You're just worrying too much. They will be fine as well" He said sounding as reassuring as he could despite the way he felt.

"No. No, I'm not! Did you hear Hales at Tric's? The way she was talking to Brooke? God! I felt so bad for Brooke and she did nothing to provoke her this time! I can't understand why she hates her so much!"

"I'm sure she doesn't hate her, Pey." Lucas said feeling extremely guilty but trying as hard as he could not to show it.

"Well, she sure as hell acts that way! Maybe I should talk to her"

"Talk… and tell her what?" He asked looking scared with the prospect of Peyton and Haley talking about Brooke.

"I don't know! What do you think I should do? I mean I can't let her talk to Brooke the way she did on Friday. It's a miracle Brooke hasn't snapped yet."

"I really think you should let the two of them deal with this by themselves"

"No, Luke. Brooke is holding back for my sake, but I don't think she'll do it for much longer. I think I should be able to do something about it" She said frustrated and then her face lighted up "Hey! Maybe you should talk to Haley!"

"Me?!" Lucas exclaimed a little too loudly.

"Yeah, Luke. That would be so much better than me talking with her. You can probably make her change her mind. She trusts your opinion."

"I…what am I supposed to say to her?"

"I don't know. What made you change your mind about Brooke?"

"Erm…I…I spent some time with her, she's ok" He shrugged. No way could he use his reasons with Haley. Actually, there were no reasons, not the ones you could explain anyway. Brooke just had a way of making him feel good, making him happy even.

"Oh, come on Luke! I know you can come up with something better than this! Maybe if the three of you spend sometime together?" Peyton suggested.

"I really don't think that's such a good idea"

"Of course it is! The more I think of it, the more I am convinced that this is exactly what we need!" She insisted excitedly.

"Peyton I really don't want to get involved in this. Maybe you should ask Nathan. I'm sure he'll be more than willing to help"

"And you're not? Why?" She asked with disappointment.

"I…it's not that I don't want to help but…"

"Haley won't agree with Nathan, she thinks he's view is clouded by Brooke's looks. You on the other hand…"

_Yeah…he on the other hand __is presumably blinded!_

"Peyt…"

"Please baby, do it for me? Please?" She said giving him the best puppy eyes she was able to muster.

"Urgh! Fine! I'll try. I'll talk to Hales" He said in defeat, there was no way he could get out of this, Peyton seemed really determined.

"And arrange for the three of you to hang out?"

"I'll see what I can do"

"Thank you! When?"

"I…I don't know, Pey"

"You have to hurry…look at them" Peyton said as they approached the others who had stopped in front of Haley's and Jake's lockers.

"So Nathan tells me you agreed to tutor him" Jake had started the conversation.

"Yeap…he agreed to put in a serious effort this year" Haley said looking pointedly at Nathan.

"I told you I would; I really have no other choice"

"Poor Natey!" Brooke said pouting her lips. "I hope you'll still have time for some fun"

"If that fun includes you I will surely make the time" Nathan replied.

Brooke broke into a wide grin flashing her dimples.

"Of course it does, what kind of fun would it be without me?" She said smiling mischievously.

"Then trust me, fun still comes first"

"Yeah, see Nathan that's not taking this seriously!" Haley reprimanded.

"Excuse me?" Brooke asked annoyed.

"You should both realize how important your school is!" Haley exclaimed.

"Hales…" Jake said quietly squeezing her waist lightly.

"I do realize it Hales! Otherwise I wouldn't ask you to be my tutor!" Nathan said exasperated.

"Yeah, Tutor-girl! Chill! Nate is gonna be a model student" Brooke said mockingly.

"Tutor-girl?!" Haley exclaimed.

Jake bit his lip not to laugh, Nathan just burst out laughing unable to hold it in and both Lucas and Peyton simply groaned.

Brooke flashed Haley a fake smile and ignoring her furious look turned to Jake.

"I'm now working on yours, Jakey"

"I'm sure it will be…imaginative" Jake mumbled while squeezing Haley's waist even harder in an attempt to calm her down.

"I have to go to the tutor-center" Haley said and after hearing the muffled chuckle from Nathan her statement had caused turned to glare at him.

"Yeah, I'm coming too" Jake added hastily and followed her after waving at the others.

"Brooke…" Peyton sighed after the two of them had left.

"Don't start, Blondie. She had it coming!"

"Yeah, Pey. It's not Brooke's fault. Hales has been bugging her since the beginning and I honestly can't figure out why" Nathan supported her.

"I know, but…"

"No buts! Besides what's wrong with calling her tutor-girl? That's what she does, right?" Brooke said while giving a side glance to Lucas who suppressed his chuckle.

"It's just not the way to make her like you" Peyton said quietly.

"Who said I cared if she likes me or not?" Brooke said angrily.

"Let's just forget about this, okay?" Lucas intervened. "So Pey, what do you have for first period?"

"Health" Peyton said resigned.

"Me too, great, maybe I won't fall asleep in class" Nathan said with a smile.

"But I most definitely will." Brooke groaned.

"What do you have, B?"

"English, I really suck at English" Brooke said with a pout.

"Oh, you're in Luke's class! That's great he can help you with it!" Peyton exclaimed happily.

Lucas smiled at Brooke and she returned his with a small smile of her own.

"If you need anything, I'd be happy to help" He told her.

"Thank you" She said smiling genuinely.

"Ok, so Nate, wanna walk to class together?" Peyton asked.

"Sure, Pey. Catch you later guys, Luke don't forget, first practice today after classes" Nathan said as he turned to leave.

"Like I could forget…see you there, bro"

"I'll catch you at lunch Brooke, so we can talk about the tryouts?" Peyton asked.

"Hm… no, after lunch would be better. I have something to do"

"Ok" Peyton nodded "We'll meet outside the gym after lunch?"

"Sure" Brooke shrugged.

Peyton and Nathan left, leaving Brooke and Lucas standing in an awkward moment of silence.

"So I guess we should head to class as well" Lucas said.

"Do we have to? I can think of a million other things I would rather do than go to English right now!"

"I bet you can" Lucas chuckled. "C'mon, it's not that bad. You know English Lit is actually my favorite class"

"Yeah, Peyton told me you like to read. Actually no, Peyton didn't. Nate did" Brooke frowned.

"Erm…and that makes you mad why?" He said noticing the change in her expression.

"Because she probably thought that I would not approve"

"You wouldn't approve? Of what? Me reading?!" Lucas said bewildered.

"Yeah…see…even Peyton has no clue" Brooke said sadly.

"No clue about what?"

"Me" Brooke whispered.

"Would you care to explain? Cause I really don't understand"

"It's simple. I think Peyton believes that if I knew her boyfriend was a bookworm I wouldn't approve of him"

"Okay…now I have so many questions in my head…but we're gonna be late if we don't start moving so I guess I'll just have to save them for later"

"Yeah, let's go" Brooke shrugged it of.

"I have to stop by my locker first, I have my books there"

"Yeah, so do I"

"Ok, then I'll go get them, and you wait me at your locker and we can go together at class" Lucas offered.

"You don't have to take me to class, Lucas"

"But I want to. If that's alright with you?"

"That would be great" Brooke said with a small smile.

* * *

She was unlocking her locker when she heard a voice behind her.

"Well, well, Miss Davis, bout time I found you alone"

"Excuse me?" She said turning around quickly and coming face to face with a Latino guy she had never seen before, with a cocky smirk etched on his face.

"I was wondering when your watchdog was gonna leave you alone"

"My watchdog?" Brooke repeated warily.

"The Scott reject"

Brooke tensed.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me. I am Felix. Felix Tagaro"

"And again…who the fuck are you?" His name did sound familiar for some reason but Brooke couldn't quite place it.

"I am the one who's going to rock your world tonight"

"Oh, really?"

"Really"

"Thank you very much for the offer, but I'm busy tonight"

"With Scott? Which of the two?" Felix asked.

"Maybe both!" Brooke replied with a smirk. He was a jerk, but a dangerous jerk as she saw it.

"My, my…busy indeed. How about tomorrow night?"

"Can't, still busy"

"With..?"

"With sorting out my nail polishes" Brooke replied seriously.

"Important task I don't doubt. But I think I can change your mind"

"Do hold your breath on that!"

"You're feisty. I like that"

"Well…in case you didn't get it so far, though I'm sure I was clear enough even for you to understand, _I don't like you_!" Brooke said poking him at the chest with her finger.

"That's not what I think" He said taking her arm and pulling her towards him.

Brooke yanked her hand free and looked at him with rage.

"Don't touch me" She hissed.

"You didn't mind when your best friend's boyfriend was touching you earlier…"

"Wh-what?!" Brooke exclaimed.

Lucas had retrieved his books and was walking back to find Brooke when he saw her as she was releasing herself from Felix's grip. Feeling the rage overtake him he quickened his pace and called for her.

"Brooke!"

She recognized his voice immediately but wasn't sure if she should feel grateful or not.

"Well…the watchdog is back…." Felix said with a mocking smile.

Lucas didn't hear him and approached the two.

"Is everything okay?" He asked Brooke.

"Fine." She nodded with a smile.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Felix asked with grin.

"What do you want Felix?" Lucas asked through gritted teeth.

"Me? I just came to introduce myself to this foxy lady" Felix said with the sleaziest smile Brooke had ever seen.

"Good. Now that you're done, you can leave her the fuck alone" Lucas hissed.

"Whoaaa…okay Lucas. Didn't know you were so protective of your brother's _assets_" he said emphasizing the last word while eying Brooke from head to toe.

Lucas took a step forward but Brooke tagged on his arm.

"Leave him Lucas. Let's just go. We'll be late for class"

Lucas nodded and turned to leave when Felix spoke again to Brooke this time.

"I'll be seeing you soon Davis, we didn't finish our conversation yet"

Brooke didn't bother to reply and just tagged on Lucas's arm again as she felt him ready to turn back.

"Who the fuck was that?" She asked him as they turned the first corner away from Felix.

"What happened, did he do anything or say anything?"

"He was just being an ass…nothing I can't handle" Brooke said tiredly.

"He is an ass." He replied emphatically. "If he did anything…?"

"No…nothing but…he didn't seem like your biggest fan" She said giving him a curious look.

"He said something about me?" Lucas asked getting agitated again.

"Nothing much but…"

"We don't exactly get along"

"Yeah, I figured that. But why?"

"Because he is a jerk"

Brooke laughed.

"But his name…it sounded familiar, but I don't think I've seen him before"

"He's new here. He and his sister moved here a while ago"

"Oh…wait a minute…Felix…Anna's brother?"

"Yeah…you've met Anna?"

"No…but now I can see why he hates you" Brooke said with a smile.

"What?"

"Anna…the girl that had a crush on you…good going Broody"

"Peyton told you?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Is there anything you two don't share with each other?" He said shaking his head amused.

Brooke looked at him guiltily.

"You know there is" She said in a low voice.

"Right…sorry…that was stupid" He said wincing.

Brooke gave him a small smile and they made the rest of the way to class in silence, barely making it before the teacher walked in.

* * *

It was lunch break when Lucas entered the gym. After the "talk" his father had given them yesterday he thought an early practice before the actual team's practice wouldn't hurt. So skipping lunch seemed like the obvious choice, it was not like he would actually be able to eat anything with the way he was feeling. Dan had threatened to come to practice this afternoon to see if the summer's slacking had got to his sons. And if he reached that conclusion, which he could easily reach if one of them even dared to miss a single shot, there would be hell to pay. Both Lucas and Nathan had taken the news grimly but they didn't talk about it as usual. It was clear to Lucas that he was the one that would be yelled at in the end, no matter how practice would go. Dan would find a way to remind him of his incompetence and he's prospect of becoming a drunken loser just like his uncle, the one he would rather have as a father, as Dan always mocked him.

He wasn't able to concentrate in any of his classes before lunch thinking about Dan and what he would have to endure again for an entire year. Hm…except maybe in his English class in which something else was the reason behind his lack of concentration. Seriously, how could anyone concentrate on anything else but her? He surely couldn't. Not when she was sitting in the seat next to him stifling her yawns. Or when he could hear her giggles after reading some note Bevin had passed her. Or even worse when she turned to him and quietly whispered the most ridiculous questions about what their teacher was saying. Who cared to listen to an old English professor when they could listen to Brooke? It was the first time Lucas had no clue about what the English lesson was about, and for the first time he had such a good time there.

He entered the gym, pushing the double door quietly but stopped abruptly. In the centre of the court he could see her. There she was, dressed in a simple tank top, similar to the one she was wearing the first day they met and in the tiniest pair of shorts he had ever seen, doing some stretching exercises showing off her slender well toned legs. He stood there admiring the perfect view she was unknowingly providing him. Noticing his heartbeat increasing again he was sure that girl had the power to kill him if she wanted to. She had bent down now and he felt his breath hitch in his throat. She would probably get mad if she caught him watching her but he couldn't bring himself to make his presence known to her. Unfortunately as she raised her head up…the frown he saw at her face…yeap…he was caught.

"Lucas?" She asked breathless from the exertion.

"Yeah…Hi" He said as he forced himself to move towards her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I came to practice a bit. I thought the gym would be empty" He shrugged.

"What a coincidence. I thought exactly the same thing!"

"This is what you had to do during lunch?" He asked her.

"How long have you been standing there?" She countered.

"What do you mean? I just got here" He said though the flash in his cheeks probably revealed the lie.

"Really? I didn't hear you come in"

"I…I didn't mean to interrupt"

"It's okay, the gym is big enough for both of us" She said with a shrug.

"Ok…then I'll let you to it" He said and headed to pick a ball.

Brooke moved to one basket and let him have the other one to practice. Lucas wondered how exactly he was going to be able to do that with her bouncing around trying out what he could only guess was the routine she would give at the tryouts. Brooke continued her exercises stealing glances at him each time she heard him cursing after missing another shot. It was rather difficult to make the shot when he couldn't take his eyes off her as she noticed satisfied. Deciding that he deserved a little show the way he was staring at her, she started practicing her moves swinging her hips a little too provocatively and adding some cartwheels and splits to show him a lot more than just hers legs, which were definitely not part of her routine. Seeing him turn to a slight shade of pink made her effort more than worthwhile.

She finished with an impressive flip and turning to him she asked with a smirk. "Enjoying the view?"

Lucas who was just standing holding the ball in the free-throw line, really it must have been more than five minutes since his last shot, shook his head in protest.

"I was just wondering how good you really are, Cheery"

"Uh-huh. And what do you think?" She asked him.

"Very good. Very very good"

"Thank you, Broody! I'm glad you enjoyed it!" She said playfully.

"Are you done?" He asked hoping she would leave so maybe he would be able to practice for a while.

"Yeah…I'll just sit here and enjoy the view myself now" She said smiling suggestively as she sat in the bleachers taking a towel to wipe her sweat.

_Great…_

"Lunch is almost over" He said as he joined her.

"I don't think you've accomplished that much" She said mockingly.

"And who's fault might that be?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Hey! Don't blame me! I came here first…and it's not like I made you watch"

"Like I had a choice…" He muttered.

"Meaning?" She asked.

"You just love making me sweat don't you?"

"In case you haven't noticed I'm the one sweating in here"

"Oh, I've noticed. Trust me"

"Broody…" She said looking at him in warning.

"What? You can't do all you did just now and expect me not to respond!" He said in frustration.

"I…I…" She stuttered. He was right. Damn him he was right.

"You're a tease Brooke. I get it." He said with a shrug.

"I'm not! Well I am. But…I don't want to do that with you"

"But you do. You do it so well. I don't know what the hell I am supposed to do!"

"I'm sorry" She mumbled.

"Yeah…of course you are"

"I am!"

"Let's just forget it. We're doing fine. Let's not spoil it again"

"Do you think this is gonna work?" She asked with a timid voice.

"This?"

"This…you and me…as friends" She chocked out the last word.

"It is working, it has to" He said resolutely.

"But…back there we…we were…"

"Teasing each other. Friends do that"

"You're right" She said sighing. "I'd better go. I need to take a shower before the next period"

"Okay…" He said and then as he thought of something he stopped her softly gripping her arm.

"You're going to do great" He said with a small smile.

"Uh?" She looked at him confused.

"At the tryouts. You're gonna be great. No need to worry"

"Who said I was worried?" She asked defensively.

"You said it, skipping lunch to practice your routine?" He said staring at her eyes.

"I'm just a bit worried about Rachel. She doesn't want me in"

"Well, you're very good at it. Seriously. So she will have no choice"

"Thanks for the pep talk, but really I'm fine" She shrugged.

"And here I thought that since I did not get any practice at least I would make myself useful by making you feel better" He said in mock hurt. "Way to ruin my knight in shining armor routine"

Brooke chuckled and picked her bag up. She made a few steps and then turned back to face him.

"Lucas, you do make me feel better, I mean it" She said with a smile.

He returned the smile but said nothing and Brooke turned to leave but once again stopped.

"And you're going to do great as well. Don't worry about _him_" And with that she left the gym.

* * *

The guys had been at the gym already for an hour when the cheerleading squad started arriving signaling in all reality the end of whatever practice plans Whitey had. He scratched his head in resignation as he watched his players stop following his orders one by one as each of them got distracted by the girls bouncing around in their skimpy attires. It was the cheerleading tryouts and he had to be there just in case, especially after the talk he had with Miss Sawyer and both his team captains. Whitey was intrigued; all three of them had talked to him about a Miss Brooke Davis, obviously unaware of the others' efforts. He just had to see what the trouble was all about. He did remember Miss Davis vaguely from the time she used to live in Tree Hill. But his memories went so far as to an adorable little girl with pigtails riding in the town with her pink bike. Apparently to get both of his team captains' attention she must have grown up into a pretty interesting girl.

Rachel soon entered the gym with Anna by her side and confidently marched to a table that was placed at one end of the gym with three chairs behind it. Whistling followed her entrance and she stopped to throw some appreciative glances at the guys that were sort of practicing. Anna got busy with plugging the tape recorder in while Rachel got her place in the center chair.

The guys started talking, pointing at the two girls that had entered when the gym door opened again. Peyton and Bevin entered with Brooke between them, all three girls with arms interlaced. Another round of whistles and praising remarks followed the girls' entrance. Both Nathan and Lucas scoffed. He had a right to scoff; his girlfriend was at the receiving end of some of these whistles, right? Rachel also scoffed. _If that bitch thought she stood any chance in joining the team she had another thing coming._ The girls made their way to the other side of the gym, passing by the boys with smirks plastered on their faces. As soon as they reached them, they were joined by Theresa, Kathy, Kelly and Lisa who all came and gave Brooke tight hugs wishing her luck. Rachel's frown became bigger. _So the bitch had made sure to take more than half of the squad on her side._ How come she had no clue about this? She should have seen it coming but she was too pre-occupied with the Nathan thing. Now she stood the risk of not only losing Nathan to that skank but her squad as well. Like hell! Peyton was the last one to hug Brooke and she whispered something to her ear making the latter grin widely. Peyton and Bevin took their places next to Rachel fake smiling to her and Brooke joined the other girls that were about to try for the squad that looked at her with fear seeing as she seemed to know all the other cheerleaders. They all thought that she was their most worthy competitor.

Lucas was watching carefully and his eyes widened as he saw Brooke remove the tiny skirt she had on revealing the same tinniest shorts he had seen her with before. Apparently, he was not the only one to be privileged to see that. Another round of wolf-whistling filled the gym. Were all the guys staring just at her?!

Rachel got up and addressed the girls.

"Okay, ladies. Listen up. Theresa is gonna perform a simple routine and you're gonna watch carefully. We're gonna give you some time to prepare yourselves and then you're all going to repeat the same routine, with Theresa on the lead, so we can see what you can do. Okay?"

The girls nodded and Rachel took her seat signaling to Anna to start the tape while Theresa stood in front of the table and started her routine. Theresa offered to repeat the routine one more time and then the girls spread out starting to practice the moves. All except Brooke, who just sat at a corner stretching. Rachel frowned. She would have to have a word with Theresa. Apparently that little slut had already showed Brooke the routine. After about ten minutes Rachel told the girls to spread behind Theresa. The tryouts were about to begin.

The guys had by now completely stopped their practice with Whitey's reluctant agreement and had formed a semi-circle sitting at the middle of the court to watch the girls. There were about fifteen girls, all looking extremely nervous except Brooke of course who seemed as confident as ever, Lucas noticed with a smile. She walked to her position and briefly turned to give a smile to the guys watching them. Watching her actually. However her eyes only locked with his, and he quickly mouthed a good luck to her making her smile widen further and her dimples to appear.

The music started and the girls starting moving in sync. Some of them were really good. But Lucas hardly noticed them, his eyes set on Brooke that moved gracefully with a hint of seduction in her movements. She was really something alright. Her presence was so powerful. She overshadowed everyone and it was like she was the only one dancing there.

"Whoa, man! Look at her" Nathan said in awe.

"She's good" Lucas affirmed without turning to him.

"Way to go, Nate! She's hot!" One of the guys said patting his shoulder.

"Yeah…" Nathan said with a nod.

"How is she in the sack, man? She must be something, judging by the way she moves"

Lucas gritted his teeth while Nathan turned to the other guy annoyed.

"Shut up, dude!" He said seriously.

"Hey…I'm only saying…"

"Don't!" Nathan said fiercely.

"Sorry…man." The other guy said turning to a guy next to him and mumbling something that caused the other one to laugh.

Nathan gave a tired sigh and turned his attention back to the girls that had ended the routine.

"Good job, girls" Rachel was saying "We'll take some time to discuss it and then call some of you to repeat the routine on your own this time"

The three girls started talking and soon the discussion obviously became heated. Brooke smirked.

Whitey shifted in his seat at the sidelines. Apparently he had made the right decision of sticking there for the tryouts.

Rachel started calling different girls to repeat the routine. After calling about 5 of the girls she gave a wary look at Brooke.

"Davis, your turn" She said with a sugary smile.

Brooke returned the smile and resumed her position. Once again she gave a perfect performance that ended with applauses and whistles from all the guys in the team and even from the girls in the squad. Brooke smiled gracefully to all of them and looked at Rachel expectantly.

"Good try Davis" She said smiling. "Unfortunately I don't think you fit in this squad."

"What?!" Peyton yelled outraged jumping up from her seat.

"But Rachel…" Bevin protested.

The guys were mumbling between each other while Lucas looked at Brooke who had not yet replied.

"I think, no, I know I'm good enough to be in the squad" She said calmly.

"I just don't think we have a place for you. I've already decided on which girls I'm gonna take and there is just no room left" Rachel responded in a calm voice giving the fakest smile in apology.

"That's nonsense!" Peyton yelled again. "Brooke is better than any of the girls, heck, she's better than the girls already in the squad!"

"Don't insult your team-mates Peyton" Rachel said mockingly.

"Rachel, you know she's right!" Kathy yelled from her place on the sidelines.

"My decision is final" Rachel said with authority ready to leave her place signaling the end of the tryouts.

Peyton looked defeated and Brooke didn't seem willing to fight it.

"Miss Gatina!" Whitey's voice boomed through the gym stopping the whispers. "May I have a word with you?" He asked smiling menacingly.

Brooke let out a sigh of relief. It was about time. She was holding back her anger so as not to turn the Coach against her and for a moment there she didn't think he was gonna get involved. Peyton stifled a chuckle as Rachel walked towards Whitey feeling extremely uneasy. Everybody was watching them quietly.

"Yes, Coach?" She asked smiling innocently as she reached him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Whitey asked in a strict voice.

"What do you mean, Coach?"

"Don't play the innocent with me Miss Gatina! Why won't you take Miss Davis in your squad?"

Rachel cleared her throat.

"I'm just doing what I consider is best for my squad, Coach"

"You know Miss Davis is very good, honestly Miss Gatina, I expected you to put your squad's interest before your personal dislikes" He said with disappointment.

"No, Coach! I really don't think that…" Rachel protested.

"Miss Gatina, I would hate to have to tell you what you have to do with your squad" Whitey told her in a stern voice.

"But…"

"Am I clear?" He asked cutting off her protests.

"Yes, Coach" Rachel said resigned. Holding her head up she returned to the girls that had surrounded Brooke giving her encouraging smiles and stood in front of them.

"Congratulations, Brooke. You're on the squad" She said coldly.

The girls squealed in excitement and Brooke was engulfed in tight hugs by Peyton, Bevin and Theresa.

"Thanks Rach!" She yelled to Rachel's back mockingly "You won't regret it! Trust me!" She concluded not concealing the evident threat in her words.

* * *

Rachel was leaning against her car's trunk tiredly waiting for Heather so she could finally get away from school. She was beyond outraged. If she saw Brooke at that moment she would probably beat the little bitch to the ground. She just had her humiliated in front of her squad and the entire basketball team! How did she get Whitey to interfere anyway? Damn Peyton! That must have been her doing. Or even Nathan's…he was taking quite an interest in her. From what she had heard the damn idiot seemed to actually care for her.

"How does it feel to get scolded by Whitey in front of the whole school?" A sarcastic voice came behind her.

"Screw you, Felix" Rachel said tiredly.

Felix chuckled.

"That bad, huh? Don't worry Rach, in a few days no one will remember"

"Like they won't remember how you got blown off in the hall today?" She asked him with a smirk.

"Shut up, Rachel"

"See...she screwed with both of us. Though not exactly like the way you would want her to screw you"

"Don't worry, that will happen soon enough" Felix replied smugly.

"Get real, Felix. At least I have to hand it to Brooke, she's got taste. She'd never go for someone like you"

"You did" Felix smirked.

"No…I just had sex with you. Once. A mistake I'm not likely to repeat, ever"

"Sure… because you're still hung up on Nathan who from what I've heard is all over her"

"I'm hung up on no one, and as for Nathan and her, I give them a week before he gets tired of that cheap slut"

"Wouldn't you like that?"

"Trust me, I know Nathan. He'll dump her in no time. And then maybe you can console her"

"And you would console him?"

"I might…just for a while. That will show the stupid skank not to mess with me"

"Dream on, Rach! Nathan will never go for you again. He already got what he wanted from you"

"Well, he won't go for her either" Rachel huffed.

Felix seemed thoughtful for a second.

"Actually…Rachel, are you sure she is interested in Nathan?"

"What do you mean? Of course she is."

"Well, that's what Anna told me, but I've been watching her all day today and yesterday and she wasn't with Nathan that much."

"So? They might have different classes"

"Yeah…but…"

"Where are you going with this, Felix?"

"I saw her with someone else, and I can't get it out of my head that there's something going on between them"

"Really? That sounds interesting…if only Nathan knew…" Rachel said grinning with malice.

"Oh believe me, if you knew who the other guy was you would find this far more than just interesting"

"Who is he?" She asked intrigued.

"All in due time, Rach…all in due time."

"Felix!"

"Actually, you know what? I think we can actually work together on this"

"No way in hell!" Rachel said indignantly.

"C'mon Rach, wouldn't you like to sabotage what she and Nathan has? Whatever it is they have?"

"Hm…I wouldn't say no in opening Nathan's eyes a bit quicker than it will take him to realize what a bitch she is"

"I knew they had you worried"

"Shut up, Felix!"

"Anyway…see as we're sharing an interest here…what do you say?"

"I say you've got yourself a deal. Now tell me who that other guy was"

"Lucas" He said smugly causing Rachel's jaw to drop to the floor.

"You mean…?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Lucas, Lucas Scott as in Nathan's brother and Peyton's, Brooke's best friend's boyfriend"

"No way! Are you sure?"

"You know I can read people very well Rachel. I can feel that there is certainly something going on between those two"

"Whoaa"

"See…I told you, you would be impressed"

"If you're right, then I think our job is gonna be much easier than I thought. And this…this is not gonna destroy just her chances with Nathan, it will destroy the LA Princess completely"

"Just don't rush, we have to plan this carefully, partner, otherwise no one is going to believe us"

"You know Felix, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!" Rachel said with a glint in her eyes.


	16. Just The Push We Need

**AN: **The feedback I'm getting from all of you is unbelievable! Thank you sooo much! hugs

Now, to all the Brathan fans, (whoa…there are really a lot of you rooting for them!) don't hate me for this one, and don't give up just yet…Just a little more patience!

**xxlaurliciousxx, Brucas2006, ****brucas333****, TypoKween, ****apple01****, brucas831, tinycapricorn12** I'm glad you all seem to enjoy the Felix/Rachel alliance (yeah I mean you all hating them!). I thought it would be nice to see what the two of them could do together….they were able to create a huge mess each on their own in the show…so I thought bringing them together would be fun! hehehe

**BrucasForeva: **I have the exact same problem! I'm trying to restrain myself from adding at least one kiss…already! But the timing is not right just yet…and you're right, Brooke is not the backstabbing type of friend like Peyton. (Btw, feel free to rant about Peyton, I don't like her AT ALL)

**erika x3: **Yeap…Rachel/Felix are going to speed up something alright!

**Brucas46Forever: **We agree on just about everything. Jealous Lucas is one of my favorites…I can say you have seen nothing yet…! And about Peyton….I repeat I don't like her AT ALL!

**BrucasCheerCaptain:** I feel bad for keeping you from your studying! If it is any consolation this is taking up much of the time I'm supposed to study as well! I hope you did well on your exam, yesterday:) You've missed the Brathan, uh? Well…I'll try and make it up to you really really soon!

**Rainey**I'm glad you're enjoying the drama that is about to erupt! Don't worry about the suggestion, I'm just so happy you reviewed and liked my story.

**cutiek88: **I'm happy to know you can see the tension! That is my ultimate goal! Thanks!

**BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE, BrathanFan4Ever, flipflopgal, catcat51092: **Thank you so much, more brathan and brucas to come soon!

So this is sort of a short chapter, but the next one will be a _big_ one, I promise. (not long…**big**! lol) And a big thanks to my amazing beta, **lonesome dreamer**, who edits my chapters unbelievably fast! Thank youuu!

* * *

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Just The Push We Need**_

Nathan entered the dark house as quietly as possible. Hopefully his dad wouldn't hear him coming back this late. He slowly walked up the stairs and got in his room closing the door behind him in relief. He didn't have time to even take off his jacket when the door opened up again. Cursing under his breath he turned ready to face his father's anger only to come face to face with an equally angry Lucas.

"Shit, Luke! You scared the crap out of me!" He said in a hushed voice. "I thought it was dad!"

"Well, it could very well have been dad! Have you gone completely mad Nate? This is the third time this week you've sneaked out on a school night!" Lucas scolded him as he got in the room closing the door behind him.

"What the hell, bro? Since when did you keep tabs on me? Are you spying me or something? What do you care what I do?" Nathan asked angry.

"Well, someone should! It seems you've completely lost your mind!"

"Keep your voice down, bro! Do you wanna wake him?"

"You should have thought about that before going out again! Where the hell were you?" He asked although he knew the answer all too well, and to be honest that was the reason behind his anger.

"I was with Brooke" Nathan replied not very enthusiastically as he took of his jacket and bent down to untie his shoes.

Yeap…that was the answer he was expecting and dreading at the same time. It had been two weeks since school started and in those two weeks Nathan was constantly out with her, either going on dates or parties or just _hanging out_. When they were around the others…well since Lucas spent most of his time watching them, they really didn't act as a couple. Sure they were flirting and teasing each other but that was as far as they went. But what where they doing when they went out alone? This was the question that kept eating him up. When he had asked his brother if they were dating Nathan had denied it. But if this was not called dating then what the hell were they doing all the time?

Asking Brooke was out of the question. The two of them had been able to maintain the fragile friendship they'd established but each time the conversation drifted to either Peyton or Nathan the tension was palpable. So as in a silent agreement they both avoided these subjects like the plague. Lucas was content to spend whatever time they had together talking about whatever pleased her. With Brooke around it was not like they could run out of subjects. He was constantly trying to find excuses to spend more time with her, either helping her with her assignments or keeping her company in study hall and free periods. He was satisfied when he noticed that she seemed as eager to spend more time with him. Of course their time together was only spent within the school premises, whereas with Nathan…

Every night Nathan went out with her, Lucas spent his night staring at his ceiling imagining what they were doing together. He was only able to fall asleep after he would hear Nathan come back home. At least they hadn't spent the night together yet, but that didn't really mean that they hadn't…

His relationship with Peyton was beginning to suffer. While he tried to make excuses to spend more time with Brooke, he kept making excuses to avoid spending time with Peyton. It was either that he had a lot of homework, or a late practice that got him exhausted, or Keith needed him, whatever he could come up with really. Peyton was very understanding, but he could see that she became increasingly suspicious or worried. He couldn't tell which of the two outweighed the other. It was only a question of time when she would finally confront him about it, and he dreaded the moment.

But hearing Nathan sound somewhat less than enthusiastic about his night with Brooke, had him wondering again. What exactly was going on between them?

"You don't sound too happy about it" He said with a curious look.

Nathan sighed.

"She's one complicated girl"

"Complicated?" Lucas asked as he sat on Nathan's bed.

"I don't know bro! She confuses the hell out of me!" Nathan said exasperated.

Lucas just looked at him expectantly urging him to go on.

"You know, we have a really good time every time we are together. We talk and laugh; we have gone to the movies, parties, dinner and all. Still…can you believe that she hasn't even allowed me to kiss her properly?!" Nathan said with a frown.

"What?!" Lucas yelled forgetting even to keep his voice down.

Now, this was beyond interesting! And certainly beyond his wildest hopes. Brooke hadn't allowed Nathan to kiss her? Damn, he shouldn't be this happy about it, but it was like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"Yeah! I don't get her! She's all over me, teasing me, making passes at me, she is so eager when we make plans together, but every time I try to do something or even hint about us dating she freezes me off!"

"I don't know what to say" He really didn't. This was almost too much to absorb.

"Yeah…can't say that I blame you. I asked her if there is another guy you know…"

"What did she say?" He asked a bit surprised.

"She denied it. She just said she wanted to take things slowly."

"Maybe that's it" He said with a shrug.

"I doubt it. I mean I'm ok with going slow. But seriously, two weeks of going out and we haven't even kissed? I would have thought that we'd be getting it on by our third date! I think I'm losing my touch! I'm sure there's something more here that we don't know. Do you think Peyton might know something about it?"

"I'm not sure" Peyton hadn't talked about Nathan and Brooke the last week at all. He couldn't help but wonder what Brooke was telling her. Maybe there was another reason behind Brooke's hesitance? It couldn't hurt if he thought that it was because of him, even if it was just wishful thinking.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do…"

"What do you mean?"

"Should I insist? I don't wanna drive her away…but c'mon man! I should have gotten at least a kiss by now! I don't know how much more teasing I can take!"

"Have you thought of maybe just giving her a little space?" Lucas suggested hesitantly.

"Space? It's not like I'm pushing her, bro! She's the one making plans every day!"

"Still…maybe she just wants to be friends?"

"No…that's not it either. I can see that she likes me. But something is holding her back, and I have no clue about what that might be."

Was it that wrong that he hoped he was the reason why she was holding back? He remained silent for a while contemplating on whether to ask the next question, and with a heavy sigh he turned to look at Nathan.

"Do you think that she is worth it, bro?" He asked. "Worth all this trouble? How come you haven't give up on her yet, it's not like you can't find someone else"

"I've thought about it. Why am I putting up with her strange behavior…Why haven't I turned to someone else yet…why I'm waiting…"

"And? What did you conclude?"

"It's not that I see it as a challenge. And I highly doubt that it's because of my pride or stubbornness."

"Then what is it?"

"It's simple. I want her. Not anyone else. Just her. Do you know what I mean?"

Lucas nodded. Sadly he did know.

* * *

"Good morning, Blondie!" Brooke said cheerfully as she entered Peyton's room finding her still asleep on her bed. 

Peyton didn't seem to share her excitement.

"Go away! It's too early!" She groaned.

"Oh, c'mon sleepy-head! It's not that early!"

Peyton let out a muffled curse as Brooke plopped down on her bed.

"What time is it anyway?" She asked raising her head from the pillow.

"Six thirty" Brooke shrugged.

"It is too early Brooke! We're not supposed to be at school until eight!"

"Actually…I was thinking of skipping the first period…or maybe more"

"Let me get this straight, you woke me up so early so we could skip school?!" Peyton asked in frustration.

"Oh, would you stop whining? It's a beautiful day and I thought it would be a great opportunity to go to the beach!"

"Brooke…"

"C'mon! We should make the best of the last warm days…soon it will be too cold to go for a swim!"

"Whatever…couldn't this beach thing wait until after I got up?"

"So you're in? Yay!" Brooke said while bouncing on the bed. "Ok, get up now P. Sawyer!" She added pulling Peyton's blanket away.

Peyton threw her blanket away with a resigned sigh. When Brooke got something in her mind there was really no point in fighting it, she had learnt that long ago. She got up stifling a yawn and headed to the bathroom muttering under her breath. Brooke giggled and got up making herself busy by going through Peyton's records collection. Not that she recognized any of the bands there, but whatever.

"I still can't understand how you manage to look so upbeat with so few hours of sleep" Peyton said as she got out of the bathroom stifling yet another yawn.

"It's a gift! And a lot of makeup…" Brooke giggled. "You on the other hand, look like crap, P. Sawyer"

"Gee…thanks! If someone hadn't wakened me up this early, then maybe I wouldn't be looking like that!"

"Oh, stop with the whining already!"

Peyton walked to her closet and started rummaging through to locate her bathing suit.

"Do you think we should tell the guys as well? Maybe they wanna come too" Peyton suggested with her back turned to Brooke.

"Hm…I was actually hoping for some girly quality time. You know…just the two of us?" She replied biting her lip nervously.

"Okay" Peyton said with a shrug. "I was actually meaning to talk to you to"

"Is something wrong, Blondie?" Brooke asked concerned.

"Nah…not really. I just think it's been a while since we last had our girl talk"

"I knew you would see things my way! Now go…hurry up! The beach awaits us!" She said practically shoving Peyton into the bathroom.

"Okay, okay!" She yelled in surrender. "The things I do for you Brooke Davis" she said shaking her head as she finally went in the shower and let the warm water slowly engulf her body.

* * *

Brooke and Peyton were lying on the sand savoring the warm sun after they had finished their swim. 

"So…" Brooke spoke "What's up Blondie? You seem awfully quiet, even for your standards"

"What? Oh, it's nothing Brooke, I'm just a little tired"

"Oh no, you don't! C'mon Pey, I know you better than that! I can see that something is bugging you! Tell me!"

"Okay…well…"

"Yeah?" Brooke asked impatiently turning her head to the side to look at Peyton.

"It's Lucas" Peyton said with a sigh.

Brooke gulped.

"What about Lucas?" she asked quietly.

"He's been acting kind of weird lately" Peyton replied without looking at Brooke.

"Weird…? What do you mean weird?"

"Well…it's like something is bothering him, but he's not talking to me about it"

"That's just how Lucas is, Blondie! Didn't you tell me he's a little closed off?"

"Yeah…he's that way. But it's not just that"

"What else?" Brooke asked fighting the guilt.

"I feel like he's avoiding me"

"What?! No way, Blondie. You two are always hanging out together"

"True, but he's avoiding spending time with me, alone, just the two of us" Peyton explained.

"Oh!" Brooke had noticed that as well, but she had tried to ignore it. Now it was obvious that this was upsetting Peyton and Brooke had to face the possibility that this was her fault.

"He's been making excuses constantly. Every time I suggest we spend sometime alone he always has something else to do, it's either he has practice or homework that he has to do…" Peyton trailed off with another heavy sigh.

Brooke took a deep breath.

"Are you sure all this isn't just in your head? Maybe he does have a lot of homework, and you told me how overbearing his father can be"

"Maybe, I don't know. Maybe I'm just overreacting. It's just that I feel that something is troubling him, that's making him distant"

"Well, too much homework and the pressure about the game may be what's troubling him. I say you're reading too much into this Blondie" Brooke said reassuringly.

"You may be right. He probably just has a lot in his mind." She said thoughtfully and then turned to Brooke with a smile "At least the two of you seem to be getting along much better"

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"You got off to a rocky start…"

"Not really. It just took some time for us to get to know each other" Brooke said gazing at the sea in front of them.

"You had me worried there for a while. I really want you guys to get along. I was afraid you won't but now I can see that you're doing really well together"

"See? You were worrying about nothing then and you are worrying about nothing now"

"I guess you're right. See I knew talking with you would help!" Peyton said giving her a genuine smile.

"That's what I'm here for" Brooke smiled back.

"Thanks Brooke! Now, your turn…"

"My turn?" She asked surprised.

"B. Davis you've been avoiding talking about you and Nathan for a whole week now! So spill! How are things going?"

"I haven't been avoiding anything. There's nothing to tell. Things are just like you know"

"Still? What are you trying to do, drive Nathan crazy?"

"I am not!" Brooke protested "I'm just not sure yet" She added quietly.

"You know you have to make up your mind sooner or later, he's not gonna wait around forever, you know?"

"I know! I know! I'm thinking about it" She said frustrated.

"What is there to think about? Nathan is hot. You two get along great. You don't have someone else in your mind… or do you?"

"What?! Of course not! Who would I have in mind?"

"Don't know…After the whole Broody fiasco…" Peyton said with a chuckle "I thought you would go for Nate, for sure"

"You're never gonna let me live that down, will you?" She asked with a frown.

"Oh, c'mon Brookie! I mean Daniel? Gee! I still can't get what you saw in him!"

"Okayyy! That was a mistake! I blame jetlag!"

"Brooke…you get jetlag traveling across the ocean…"

"Oh shut up, Miss know-it-all!" Brooke said with a pout.

"Whatever…let's get back to our point…you and Nathan"

"I just…I just need a little more time!"

"Fine, I'm not gonna push it anymore, but keep in mind that if you take too much time you just might lose whatever chance you have with him"

* * *

Brooke and Peyton arrived at school just in time for their lunch break. They joined the others and explained why they skipped the morning glasses earning a few scolding looks from Haley. Brooke's relationship with her hadn't really improved that much yet. Lucas did talk to Haley, after Peyton's pleads and of course after Haley's insistent questions about he's behavior towards Brooke. 

_It was late afternoon after practice had ended that Haley arrived to the Scott's house so she could schedule the tutoring sessions with Nathan. He was still in the shower when she got __there and she just found Lucas relaxing in his room listening to some music._

"_Just who I was looking for" She said in a cold tone._

_Lucas sighed…he already knew what was going to follow._

"_Hey, Hales. Take a seat. Nathan will be out shortly"_

_Haley sat on the bed next to him and looked at him in question._

"_Well, aren't you gonna tell me what today was all about?" She asked impatiently._

"_I don't know what you want me to say." He said tiredly._

"_Really? So there was nothing strange about me walking up to you and the airhead acting all buddy-buddy with each other?"_

"_What's strange about that? She's Peyton's friend, I told you we wanted to start over and forget about our previous unfortunate encounter"_

"_Unfortunate encounter?! Lucas! I thought you hated the girl!"_

"_I've never said I hated her! Okay…she's a little spoiled…but you should try and get to know her Hales, she's not that bad!"_

"_What?! You've got to be kidding!"_

"_I'm not! She's annoying I won't argue with you, but she's Peyton's friend. We have to try and get along with her"_

"_That's what you were doing today?" She asked skeptically._

"_Well…yeah!"_

"_I can understand you being civil with her when Peyton is around, Luke. But why do you have to spend time alone with her?"_

"_It just happened. It's not like we planned it"_

"_Well, you seemed to be having a really good time with her" Haley insisted._

"_We were just goofing around…" Lucas replied casually._

"_So what are you telling me, you actually like the slut?!" She asked in shock._

"_Please don't call her that, Hales!" _

"_Oh God, she has you defending her just like Nathan!"_

"_Well, what do you expect us to do when you keep accusing her without a reason?" _

"_Without a reason? Luke, what happened to everything you said a couple of days ago?"_

"_I'm telling you, if you got to know her a little better you would see she's not as bad as she seems"_

"_And when did you get to know her, Luke?! Like how much time did the two of you spend together exactly?" Haley asked getting more and more suspicious. Something just didn't add up._

"_Not that much! But I trust Peyton's opinion. We were wrong to judge her based on our first impression. I mean, take Nathan, he seems like a jerk if you don't really know him too"_

"_I can't believe you're comparing her to Nathan!"_

"_I'm just saying you should give her a chance" Lucas said calmly._

"_I can't believe this!" Haley huffed._

"_Look, I didn't wanna tell you this, but Pey asked me to talk to you"_

"_Talk to me about what?"_

"_The way you're acting towards Brooke. Hales…she's upset that you two seem to hate each other"_

"_Oh…I didn't think she noticed" Haley said looking guilty._

"_Of course she did! The way you talked to Brooke at Tric's? Everyone noticed!"_

"_I didn't mean for that to happen__…but it's not like she doesn't deserve it!"_

"_What did she ever do to you Hales?" he said a little too defensively and realized the tone he just used when she shot him a death glare. "Okay Hales, just forget about her but think about Peyton. Does Peyton deserve this?" _

"_Oh this is low, Luke!" _

"_No, it's the truth. You're hurting Peyton. If I have to be nice to Brooke so that Peyton doesn't get upset, I'll do it. And I'd expect the same from you"_

"_Great…laying out the guilt." Haley said crossing her arms._

_Lucas just shrugged._

"_Fine…I'll try to be civil to her. If she won't try anything that is, I will."_

"_I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, buddy!" He said with a smile._

"_But…" Haley interrupted him._

"_Uh…there is a but?" He asked looking rather worried again. _

"_Yeah Luke, but! I won't try to get to know her! I won't have to like her, and you won't try to push me to it! I'll just be nicer to her in front of Peyton. This does not mean I'm going to be anywhere near being her friend"_

"_Fine, Hales, if that's how you want it to be" Lucas said in defeat. At least they would be able to avoid the tension in front of Peyton._

"_I don't like her Luke, and I certainly don't trust her!" And I especially don't trust her around you! Haley concluded to herself._

However, Haley remained true to her word and acted all nice albeit cold towards Brooke when Peyton was around. Lucas had warned Brooke about it and she did her part of the deal by avoiding aggravating Haley as much as she could.

So lunch went on fine as it did usually between the six of them.

"So Brooke, are we still meeting at the library after the next period so we can work on your English assignment?" Lucas asked before they left for their classes. They had arranged to meet for that assignment the previous day since Brooke had confided that she was having big trouble with it.

"Erm…actually, I can't. I'm meeting Bev to discuss a new routine for the squad. We want to ambush Rach with it tomorrow at practice"

"Okay, how about after school? You can stop by the house if you want"

"Yeah, B. Come by" Nathan happily agreed.

"Thanks, but I'm going to the mall with…Theresa after school"

"Oh…okay, how about tomorrow then?" Lucas suggested.

"You know what, I think I'll try and finish it tonight. Thanks for the offer though"

"Oh, yeah sure, no problem. If you want when you finish it I can give it a look" Lucas offered feeling extremely surprised by her constant refusals.

"That won't be necessary. I'm sure you have tons of homework of your own. But thanks. I appreciate it. Let's go, Blondie!" She concluded turning to Peyton.

Lucas sat there dumbfounded. What the hell was this again?

* * *

"This is not working!" Rachel said in a high-pitched tone as she sat next to Felix at the picnic table he was sitting writing on his notebook. 

"What now, Rach?" He asked tiredly.

"They were out again the other day; I saw them at the Blue Post. Nathan completely ignored me"

"So what else is new?" He asked with a smirk.

"Screw you! Aren't you tired of waiting?"

"I am…but it's not like there's anything I can do just yet."

"Have you seen her today?"

"Yeah, I saw her with Peyton earlier"

"Great…just great. We are just supposed to sit back and wait for something to happen, while the little skank gets Nathan _and_ is taking over my squad day by day. Do you know what she pulled on me at the last practice?"

"Yeah, Anna told me something about a new routine she presented that all the girls loved and decided to use that at the first game?" He said in question.

"Exactly! They chose her routine over mine! Can you believe it? We have to do something now!"

"Look…you have to be patient, she's bound to make a mistake and we will be there to exploit it. But until then…"

"When? When is she going to make that mistake? We've been watching her like a hawk with Lucas for two weeks now and they haven't done anything remotely suspicious!" Rachel whined frustrated.

"They're hanging out together a lot though"

"Yeah you are such a genius! We can certainly use that against them!" Rachel said sarcasm dripping on her voice.

"At least we agree that something is up between them"

"Yeah, yeah…fine! You were right all along! But I can't see how we're supposed to take advantage of it when they don't act upon it!"

"Well, we're watching them at school mostly, it's not like they could do anything here, anyway"

"Actually, the last couple of days I haven't seen them that much together"

"You noticed that too, uh?"

"Of course. Damn! Do you think we are wrong?"

"Nah…they might have had a fight or something. Again, what I think is that we're not gonna catch them doing anything _here_."

"So what are you saying? We should give up?" She asked surprised.

"No, of course not! I just think that waiting for something to happen is not gonna work. Maybe we should push it"

"How? What are you thinking, Felix?"

"I'm thinking…of a party"

"A party?"

"Yeah, somewhere with loads of alcohol and a lot of vacant rooms…if there is something between them then they're bound to do something there"

"With Peyton and Nathan around? I doubt it"

"And that's why they won't be around. That's where we come in" He said with a smirk.

"Oh…I think you may be on to something here. Whoaa… good idea Felix. I'm surprised."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Anyway, I think you should just be patient until the next party is thrown and we can work on something there"

"Hm…okay, start spreading the news, Felix. Tomorrow is Friday. My place. Everyone is invited" Rachel said with a grin as she got up from the picnic table leaving Felix behind who was laughing heartedly.


	17. You Push, You Break

_**AN:**_ I'm so so sorry for the time I took to update! I have the usual excuses, too busy and the chapter giving me a really hard time…so again, I'm very sorry!

For this chapter I have to give special thanks to my two best friends Frida and Vicky who had to endure long exhausting discussions on how things were going to turn out with this one. Without your input ladies I don't think this would ever be finished! Love you both! And of course thank you Denise, your help is always invaluable! huggies

So…about this one…I have just one thing to say…don't hate me!

I hope you'll enjoy and let me know what you think!

* * *

_**Chapter 17**_

_**You Push, You **__**Break**_

The music was too loud, the latest pop hits annoyingly banging at his eardrums. The room was too crowded, the entire senior class seemed to be there, their yelling and laughing even louder and more annoying than the ridiculous music. The sight of his fellow students as they were getting more and more drunk by the minute, completely making fools of themselves was disgusting. The conversation Haley was having with Peyton was boring. The one Jake was having with Mouth, even more so. Bevin's attempts to get Skillz to dance were irritating. His beer seemed too warm and time was passing by mercilessly slow. Yeap…he was so enjoying himself at this damned party Peyton had dragged him to. Any minute now he knew his mood was about to take a sharp turn to the worst. Still, he couldn't help but stare at the door waiting for their arrival.

Just about three days ago that arrival would be able to compensate for the crappy time he was having. Not their arrival exactly, but her arrival. With Brooke around he would have a good time, she would be able to make him laugh with her ridiculous jokes or her unstoppable rambles or her teasing him. But that would have been the case three days ago. Now, now he would be lucky if she even looked his way.

It had come completely out of the blue and found him completely unprepared. One day they were getting along just fine, spending all the time they could together, and the next day…poof…it was over. It all started at the cafeteria, she canceled the plans they had made to work on her assignment together and since then, she just avoided him like the plague. For the life of him he couldn't figure out what had happened. He thought about asking for an explanation, but that would have required him actually talking to her for more than five seconds and he hadn't been able to do that the last days. He couldn't find her alone anymore. She was constantly hanging out with Bev, or Theresa…or whoever. It was not like Brooke didn't have enough friends. The very few times he saw her alone and tried to walk to her, she fled as soon as he got there mumbling some lame excuse. He actually saw her one day making a complete u-turn when she saw him walking her way in the hall. This was beyond weird and it made him so frustrated. When they were around the others she was completely ignoring him turning her attention to Peyton or Nathan. But that really didn't say much since they were always more typical to each other around the others anyway. The times they had spent alone it was a completely different story. But just like that she had ended it, whatever it was they had. They hadn't fought. He hadn't done anything, or had he? He thought and thought about what he might have done to make her act this way but he really couldn't come up with any rational explanation. It was just like one morning she woke up and decided that she didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

So now he had to look forward to her coming to this party with his brother, talking and joking with everyone around, completely ignoring him as she had been doing for the past three days. But he still wanted to see her. Even if it was only to have her pretend that he didn't exist, he still wanted to be around her. He wanted to look at her sparkling eyes even if they were avoiding his. He wanted to hear her laughter and see her dimpled smile even if he knew that someone else caused them. It had been three days and he had missed her like hell.

He didn't know that his waiting wasn't going to go on for much longer. He first saw his brother's tall figure appearing through the hall door. Stretching his neck he was able to make out her smaller figure walking right next to him. They hadn't spotted them yet so he had a few seconds to take in her appearance. Brooke always looked beautiful; at least to him she always seemed beautiful, even just in her track suit all sweaty with disheveled hair after a long cheerleading practice. But tonight, tonight she wasn't just beautiful, apparently she had opted for looking sexy and boy was she having the desired effect on him. She was wearing a tight red mini dress with a halter neck that accentuated her curves and revealed her bare back, accompanied by a pair of red stilettos that made her slender legs look even longer. He felt his temperature rising and tried really hard to shake the R-rated thoughts that entered his mind. Man, was it going to be hard to sleep tonight!

"Oh, here's Nathan and Brooke! Finally!" He heard Peyton say from his side as she waved her hand to attract the pair's attention.

Nathan saw her and ushered Brooke towards them. They exchanged a quick round of hellos with everyone, with Brooke hardly acknowledging Lucas's presence once again.

"You've finally made it" Peyton said with a mocking smile.

"Don't look at me! You know her!" Nathan answered pointing to Brooke with his eyes.

Brooke smacked his arm.

"We are not that late! And besides, it's called making an entrance, Blondie." She said emphatically to Peyton. "How are things going here anyway?" She asked throwing a look around her to inspect the people dancing and yelling in the room.

"It's ok, almost everybody is here." Peyton said with a shrug. "But it's kind of boring. I don't know why you insisted on coming to Rachel's party, Brooke. You of all people"

"Trust me Pey, I didn't want to come almost as much as you did, but if I didn't come the stupid hoe would think I'm afraid of her. And it's not like I could really miss a party, anyway!" Brooke concluded with a giggle and then turned to Nathan. "Hotshot, drinks, now!" She said with a commanding tone. "And make them strong; God knows we'll need them tonight!" She added as she spotted Rachel talking to Felix who was looking at Brooke with what he obviously thought was a seductive smile etched on his face.

"Yes, ma'am!" Nathan replied sarcastically giving an amused glance at his brother as he left to go to the kitchen where the makeshift bar was located.

Brooke continued talking with Peyton and Bevin that Brooke's arrival managed to distract from her efforts to make Skillz dance. Nathan soon returned with their drinks in hand.

"Vodka with ice" He said offering the plastic cup to her.

"My favorite, thanks Natey" Brooke replied with a smile while Lucas frowned at the thought of Nathan already knowing her favorite drink or knowing anything about Brooke for that matter that he himself ignored.

Brooke took a large sip from her drink and resumed her chatting with Bevin and Peyton, all three of them gossiping about everybody around. The guys started talking about the latest game they saw at tv and Haley stayed in between, half-listening to both conversations and being incredibly bored. Soon Brooke and Bevin left their friends so they could go mingle and Peyton resumed her earlier conversation with Haley.

About half an hour later the party was at full swing with most of the teens completely drunk by now. Many of them had filled the middle of the living room that had been cleared from all furniture and were trying to dance. Nathan hardly paid any attention to them mostly absorbed in his basketball talk with the guys when he saw Bevin pushing her way to the middle of the dance floor followed by Theresa and of course Brooke. As the girls started to dance to the music he forgot all about his talk and concentrated on them. The rest of the guys were still talking and Lucas turned to his brother to ask for his opinion.

"So what do you think Nate?"

As he received no response, he prodded again "Nate?"

"Uh?" Nathan turned to look at him in question.

"What were you looking at, man?" Lucas asked and as Nathan turned once again to the dance floor he followed his eyes' direction.

He saw the three girls who by now had managed to make room in the dance floor and were occupying the middle putting on quite a show as they were swinging provocatively and grinding against each other giggling constantly. Brooke was holding her cup in one hand and it was plainly obvious from the way she was constantly laughing that this was not the same drink she had before. He had to wonder exactly how many had followed. All girls seemed to be ignoring the fact that they had attracted so much attention and were only paying attention to each other. Suddenly Brooke left the two, causing a few disappointed "awws" to be heard from the spectators and sauntered over to them. Ignoring all others she grabbed Peyton's hand.

"No, c'mon Brooke! I don't want to!" Peyton protested.

"Oh yes you do!" Brooke simply replied and dragged Peyton back to their spot.

Lucas, Nathan and Haley watched in shock as Peyton almost immediately took a place among the other girls and started dancing with them.

"Now that I would have never imagined!" Nathan said in wonder. "Luke?" He asked his brother.

"I had no idea…" He said shaking his head.

Jake smiled. This was junior high all over again. Bevin and Theresa moved to the side and it was now Brooke and Peyton that were putting on the show.

"They used to be like that all the time" He said still smiling.

"Really? I never thought Peyton…" Haley trailed off amazed.

Lucas looked puzzled. This was his girlfriend and apparently he had no idea of who she was. Sure he expected something like this from Brooke, but Peyton? Now this was something. It seemed really weird and one would think that Lucas would be amazed by discovering this new side Peyton obviously had. However he was still fascinated by Brooke. That girl had such power over all of them it was quite incredible. She made Nathan quit being an asshole; she made Peyton look carefree and happy…ok even silly he thought as he watched the two girls make a ridiculous dancing move that belonged somewhere in the eighties, and she made Haley act like a bitch. Ok so her influence wasn't always positive. As for what she did to him…

The song finally ended and Peyton got free from Brooke's grip and returned to the gang while Brooke remained and resumed her dancing with Bevin and Theresa.

'"Whoaa Sawyer, I didn't think you had it in you!" Nathan said with a chuckle.

"Shut up, Nate!" Peyton said feeling really embarrassed.

"No, Pey seriously, this was…whoa" Lucas agreed with a laugh.

"Urgh!" Peyton groaned. "You try saying no to her!" She said looking at both of them.

Both brothers laughed but inwardly they had to agree with her, there was no way they could say no to Brooke. They all continued teasing an annoyed Peyton until Brooke came bouncing again and approached Nathan this time.

"C'mon, Hotshot! Your turn!" She said grinning widely.

"What? Oh no, no!" Nathan objected shaking his head.

"No? You don't want to dance with me?" Brooke said pouting her lips.

"I really don't dance" Nathan insisted.

"Not even with me?" Brooke continued in a whiny voice.

"Really B, you don't want me to dance" Nathan repeated.

"Fine…I'll just have to find someone else. I'm sure I'll be able to find someone…" She said taking a glance around her.

"That's just not fair!" Nathan whined, while Peyton was laughing hysterically.

"Well?" Brooke asked again kinking her eyebrow at him.

"Urgh…what the hell, okay! Fine!" Nathan surrendered and Brooke smirked satisfied taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.

"Told you, you couldn't say no!" Peyton yelled between her laughter.

They resumed their position in the dance floor. Nathan just stood there uncomfortably at first looking helplessly at the others and pleading with his eyes for help. That didn't last long however and Lucas watched as Nathan's attention was soon diverted to the girl in front of him that started dancing around him, swinging her hips provocatively and grinding her body against his. It didn't take long for Nathan to put his arms around her waist and pull her even closer to him while she laced her arms around his neck eliminating the last distance between them. Now as fun as it had been watching Brooke doing this with Bevin or Theresa and even more so with Peyton, the sight of her with Nathan was enough to drive Lucas crazy. Mumbling something incoherent to the others he hurriedly left them as he didn't think he could stand that sight for much longer without losing it completely. He made his way at the kitchen and turned towards the keg to get another beer. Just as he was about to fill his cup he reconsidered. Beer wasn't strong enough for him to handle this situation. Vodka with ice, wasn't it that she had? Hopefully it would be strong enough to make this ping of jealousy running through his body stop.

* * *

Lucas returned to the room only after the song had ended hoping to find his brother back with their friends, but unfortunately Brooke had obviously convinced Nathan to stick around for the next one as well. Getting back to the corner where his friends were, he leaned against the wall with his eyes fixated on the dancing couple. Nathan had forgotten all his initial inhibitions and seemed like he was really enjoying himself. Why wouldn't he be when he had Brooke in his arms? Both he and Brooke seemed to have eyes only for each other. Taking a large gulp from his drink, he enjoyed the burning sensation as he noticed Nathan's hand that moved up her bare back. If this continued for much longer he would soon need another drink, he thought as he took another large gulp. Just about then Brooke turned her head and their eyes met. He saw how the smile immediately left her face and she assumed a guilty expression. He didn't even try to hide the way she was making him feel and he kept staring at her letting all the jealousy and pain he was feeling to show.

Brooke was overwhelmed by his eyes and all the emotions she could read in them. She knew she had to turn back to Nathan but it was like his eyes were holding her captive and she had no power to break their spell. After three days of trying to avoid him and trying to put some much needed distance between them, all he had to do was take one look at her and she fell completely helpless once again. After her talk with Peyton she had come to the decision that apparently this friendship thing would not work either. Peyton's worries didn't come as much of a surprise to her. She already knew that both she and Lucas weren't and couldn't be just friends. She knew that the prospect of seeing him and spending time with him made her way more excited than any meeting with a friend should. She had realized how they were growing closer and that she was beginning to really care for him and miss him when he was not around. She couldn't be sure if it was the same for him but if she had to make an assumption she would say it was. There were also the awkward moments between them when one got too close to the other and she could feel the air around them practically thicken and she had to gather all her strength to resist the thoughts and impulses she had.

But she had ignored all these signs for almost two weeks and just continued jumping at every opportunity to spend time with him pushing the guilt away. All he needed to do was look at her with his baby-blue eyes and give her a small smile and she would immediately forget everything about her best friend and just follow him on whatever he wanted. The discussion with Peyton was just the reality check she needed. Realizing what a bad friend she was being she knew she had to stop it, and so she did. Just like that, without giving him any explanation. She knew that he was very upset about it and she had noticed that he was chasing after her probably looking for a reason behind her sudden change. But she couldn't face him. It hurt her far more than she thought to keep away from him and she had missed him so much. She had turned to Nathan even more eager than before and she spent all the time she could with him trying to convince herself that this, him, was what she wanted. However every time Nathan tried to kiss her she had to pull away as her eyes filled with images of Lucas looking at her hurt and sad. Exactly the way he was looking at her right now. Unable to hold it together any longer she turned to Nathan and dragged him to the kitchen so they could get more drinks.

* * *

Rachel and Felix had been observing the scene standing at the other corner of the room.

"Ok…we have to do it now" Rachel started.

"You think they've had enough to drink yet?" Felix asked turning to her.

"She certainly has, but I can't be sure about him"

"I don't think we need to worry about him, did you catch his face when she was dancing with Nathan? He seemed even more pissed than you" Felix said with a smirk.

"Yeah…I wonder how the others don't notice them! These two are so obvious" Rachel said deciding to ignore his little remark about her. "Anyway, I say let's try it. I don't think I can put up with that hoe being all mushy with Nate any longer!"

"I wouldn't exactly call their dancing mushy…"

"Whatever, Felix! As you said, she's drunk, he's pissed; I think we're set"

"Okay, okay…though I wouldn't mind watching her dance for a while longer…"

"I did not have this party so you could fill your Brooke Davis fantasies! Besides if our plan works soon, she may end up dancing with you"

"You said she would never even look at me" Felix said raising an eyebrow.

"Felix, when we're done with her she will have no one left. No boyfriend and no friends. She will be so desperate she will turn to anybody for help"

"Wow, Thanks!" Felix said sarcastically.

Rachel just shrugged in response.

"You know, I've been thinking about this and I think we're forgetting something" Felix added.

"What did we forget?"

"She's not gonna be left alone, Rach. She will have Lucas"

"Nah…he'll be too busy running after Peyton" Rachel shrugged it off.

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm not. And really, it's not my problem. Lucas is your problem. Get rid of him and you can get into her pants. But for Lucas to become the problem, we first have to deal with Nathan"

"Fine…so, you know what you have to do?"

"Of course. I have Peyton covered. You'd better make sure Nathan is out of the way"

"I told you I would"

"Good, let's get to business then"

* * *

"Hi Mouth" Rachel said putting on one of her sweetest smiles.

"Uh…He-hello Rachel" Mouth stuttered surprised. Rachel Gatina was talking to him? He was shocked she even knew his name!

"Are you having a good time?" She asked sweetly.

"Yeah…yeah it's a great party"

"Really? Cause I think that the music seriously sucks"

"Oh" Mouth mumbled.

"Anna tells me you're a very good dj"

"Erm..I'm not that good" Mouth said trying not to blush.

"Of course you are! You are in charge of the music in every party Nathan throws. And though his parties aren't half as good as this one, I have to admit the music always rocks"

"Thank you, Rachel"

"I was thinking, what do you say about helping me out here with the music? I would really appreciate your help" Rachel suggested looking at him with hope.

"Oh…of course. I'd love to" Mouth eagerly agreed.

"That's great! You're a life-saver, Mouth!" Rachel said excitedly and took his hand to lead him to the stereo system.

Rachel pushed away a guy that was in charge so far.

"Here…these are my cds" She said bending down and offering him about ten cds.

Mouth took a look at the handful she gave him.

"Erm…these aren't a lot. I don't think these will be enough" He said hesitantly as he browsed through them.

"I have a lot more in my room but I don't know which would be appropriate" Rachel said with a shrug.

"We can go and have a look together" Mouth suggested timidly.

"You know what, I think you should stay here and change this awful thing we're listening to right away"

"Okay…then you can get me some…" He tried again.

"I would but I really have no idea on what I should get. Can't you think of anyone else that could help?" Rachel asked innocently.

"Erm…sure, Peyton helps out at Tric. She's better at this than me actually"

"Peyton? Uh, well, I don't think she would agree to help me. I mean, you and I both know she doesn't like me" Rachel said with a sad face.

"No, Peyton is not like that! I'm sure she'd help" He objected.

"I really can't ask her, but you… Maybe you could ask her…" Rachel said giving him a puppy face.

"Erm…but…"

"Please, Mouth, for me? I would be forever grateful!" She insisted pleadingly.

"Of course. I'll go ask her and then I'll come here and start with this" He agreed.

"Thanks Mouth! I owe you one!" Rachel said giving him a peck on the cheek.

He was sure he had blushed now.

* * *

After his conversation with Rachel, Felix had headed out of the house and to the front road where most of the teens had parked their cars. He quickly recognized Nathan's sleek black Jaguar with the Scott's logo on the plates. He quietly approached the car, it was dark and no one was around. He kneeled next to it and took a pocket-knife out of his jacket. After checking for any passer bys one more time he quickly pushed the knife into the left front tire and dragged it across creating a huge rip to it. Standing up, he circled the car and did the same to the right one. He then got up and put the knife back into his pocket. After making sure once again that no one was there he kicked the car hard a few times finally managing to set its alarm off. He immediately ran back to the house through the kitchen side door.

A couple of minutes later, he calmly walked back into the living room and spotted Tim trying to unsuccessfully hit on both Kathy and Kelly that looked extremely annoyed.

"Hey Tim" He said but Tim ignored him. "Smith!" He yelled louder.

"Wh-What?" Tim turned to him confused. He and Felix weren't exactly on speaking terms.

"I think someone messed with Scott's car"

"What?" Tim said in shock.

"The alarm is banging. Isn't that black Jaguar parked in the front Nathan's?"

"Yeah-yeah it is"

"Well?" Felix said impatiently as Tim just stood there staring at him.

"Well what?" He asked confused.

"Won't you go tell Nathan? Don't you think he should check it out?!" Felix asked with frustration.

"Oh! Oh yes!" Tim nodded dumbly and ran towards Nathan and Brooke that were talking at a corner.

Felix saw Nathan and Tim leave the room as Brooke made her way towards Bev and Theresa. Spotting Rachel at the far end of the room he gave her a nod and she returned a vicious smile.

* * *

Brooke was talking with Bevin and Theresa really just trying to find any excuse so as not to return to the others before Nathan got back. She had also noticed that Peyton was not there and that left Jake, Haley, Skillz and Lucas, not exactly her choice of company at the moment. She saw Felix approaching them and immediately scoffed. After their first meeting, Felix kept bugging her at every opportunity he got, hitting on her and not taking a no for an answer.

"Hey Brooke, looking good tonight" He said eyeing her hungrily.

"I always look good" Brooke smirked.

"Don't I know it! What do you say me and you skip this lame party and have one of our own?"

"Hm…let me think about it….how about…NO!"

"Can't blame a guy for trying" Felix said with a shrug.

"Hm…" Brooke eyed him skeptically; it was not like him to take a no that easily.

"So…are you enjoying yourself?" He asked.

"What do you want Felix, cause I'm sure you're not here just to make sure I'm having a good time"

"I would love to show you a really good time"

"God, aren't you tired of hearing me say no? How many times do I have to say it till you get it?"

"Only until you mean it" He said with a smirk.

"What an ass! Just get lost Felix" She said tiredly.

"Hey, that's not nice and I only came here to relay a message. That's the thanks I get for doing a favor for Nathan"

"Nathan? What did he say? And why didn't you tell me right away?" Brooke said starting to get worried. All Tim had said was that his car alarm had gone off and though she had offered to go with him, Nathan assured her it was not worth the trouble and he would be back right away. But now that she thought about it he was already gone for quite some time.

"I was just trying to make conversation" Felix replied.

"Felix, where is Nathan? Is everything ok, something wrong with the car? What happened?"

"I think someone slashed his tires. He's upstairs. He was really upset when I saw him there and he told me to get you" Felix said seriously.

"Oh God! Who would do something like that? Why didn't you tell me right away , you idiot?!" Brooke yelled frustratedin frustration.

"I did!"

"Argh! Where is he?" She asked again.

"Upstairs, in the guestroom. Third door on your left"

Brooke didn't bother to reply as she swiftly left and headed upstairs almost running.

As soon as Rachel, that had been in the mean time watching the scene saw her make her way up the stairs, she approached Lucas.

"Hey Luke" She said sweetly.

"Rachel" Lucas acknowledged with a nod not in the mood to talk with her or anyone else at that point.

"Hm…I guess I shouldn't bother to ask if you're having fun" She said with a sarcastic smile.

"What do you want Rachel?" Lucas asked with a sigh.

"Me? Nothing. Just wanted to tell you that Peyton asked for your help"

"My help?"

"Yeah, she's upstairs in my room choosing some music to get to Mouth and apparently she's having some trouble with it"

"What kind of trouble?" Lucas asked confused.

"I don't know." Rachel said with a shrug. "She just told me to get you to help her."

"Fine, where's your room?" He condescended.

"Upstairs third room on your left"

Lucas nodded and left to head upstairs.

Felix came and stood next to Rachel.

"Done?" He asked.

"Yeap!" Rachel said with a grin.

"So what now?" He asked again.

"Now we give them some time"

"You think it'll work?"

"It has to" Rachel said determinedly as she gave a lustful look to Nathan that had just entered the room. "It has to" She repeated to herself.

* * *

Brooke entered the room and took a look around.

"Nathan?" She asked loudly but the room was evidently empty. She noticed an adjacent room which she could guess was a bathroom and walked to its closed door. "Nathan?" She repeated knocking on the door but nobody answered again. She opened the door slightly to reveal a dark bathroom behind it. Brooke shrugged and was about to turn around and walk out when she heard his voice, not Nathan's voice of course. Shit!

"Peyton?" Lucas said in question as he walked into the room but he was only met by Brooke coming out of the bathroom. "Oh, it's you" He said in surprise. "Where's Peyton?"

"Peyton? I came here to find Nathan" Brooke replied looking confused.

"Rachel told me Peyton would be here" He said looking confused as well. "This isn't Rachel's room, is it?" He asked again observing the small room that was only furnished with a double bed, a dresser and a small closet.

"I think it's a guestroom" Brooke agreed looking around her.

"But…she told me to come to this room" Lucas repeated with a puzzled look in his face.

"Well apparently you got the wrong room" Brooke replied with a shrug.

"But I'm pretty sure she said this one" Lucas insisted.

"Then apparently she was wrong. Neither Peyton nor Nathan is here. Maybe she mixed up the rooms. Try the next one" Brooke said and started walking towards the door where he was still standing.

Lucas saw her starting to move and all his confusion about the room was immediately forgotten. He was finally able to find Brooke alone like he had been trying to do all this time and all he was asking her was about the rooms in Rachel's house?

"Actually…" He said with a pause "Since we're both here…" He continued turning to the door "I was meaning to talk to you" He concluded and shut the door behind him turning back to Brooke.

Brooke stopped dead at her tracks and looked at him in question trying to hide her nervousness. She had been avoiding him successfully for three days and now here she was stuck in a room with him and from the way he was looking at her, there was no way she would be able to get out of there before giving him some sort of explanation. Still she had to try.

"Can't it wait? Felix told me Nathan is upset and he asked for me so I should go find him" She objected.

"No, it can't" Lucas replied firmly and took a step forward.

"Is it that important, really? Because I should really find him and you should find Peyton, weren't you looking for her?" Brooke insisted feeling even more nervous by his intense gaze.

"They can wait. This can't" He insisted.

"Fine. What do you want to talk to me about?" She asked choosing a casual tone as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Us" He replied staring at her intently.

"What about us?" She asked calmly matching his stare.

"Don't you think there is something we need to talk about?" He asked looking at her in question.

"Look Lucas, you said you wanted to talk. So if you have something to say just say it. Otherwise just step aside and let me leave, I'm in a hurry" Brooke said impatiently.

"What happened Brooke? Why are you doing this? What did I do this time?" He asked in frustration.

"What do you mean?" She asked looking surprised.

"Do all of our conversations have to play out like this?" He asked with a raised voice.

"Like what?" Brooke continued her act knowing very well she was making him angrier by the minute.

"You playing dumb! It would save us both a lot of time if you just admit it! You knew what I'm talking about from the start"

"And you could just come out and ask me what you want and not toy around the subject!"

"Why are you avoiding me?" He asked quietly this time, looking straight at her eyes.

"I'm not avoiding you!" Brooke denied.

"You're not? When was the last time we talked? When was the last time we did anything together?"

"Weren't we just hanging out together at this party?" She said nonchalantly.

"We were hanging out _together_? Brooke, you hardly said a word to me!" He said exasperated raising his voice again.

"You must be wrong. But even if I didn't, it wasn't intentional. It just happened I guess. And by the way, you hardly said anything as well." She said with a shrug.

"Is that right? And it wasn't intentional yesterday either? Or the day before?"

"I've just been very busy lately" Brooke replied still trying to remain cool.

"You weren't busy for Nathan or Peyton or Bevin or whoever else! You are just too busy for me!" He said his anger taking over him again.

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this. I told you it just happened"

"God Brooke, you've been practically ignoring me for three days now and you want me to believe it's just a coincidence?"

"Yes! It's just in your head. Why would I be avoiding you?"

"Hell if I know! That's what I'm asking you!" He almost yelled at her.

"Would you stop yelling? Someone might hear us!"

"Do you really think I care at this point?" He asked with rage.

"Of course you do! Are you drunk or something?!" She said giving him an incredulous look.

"I'm not drunk Brooke! I'm confused!" He yelled again. "Just tell me what's wrong! Tell me what happened that made you do this!" He added more quietly giving her a pleading look

"Nothing happened, Lucas" She said with a sigh.

"Then why are you doing this? I thought we would try to make this work!"

"It can't work, Okay? Can't you see how this is just not gonna work?" She said unable to remain calm any more while her eyes started to glisten with unshed tears.

"Why? Why can't it work? Tell me what's wrong so I can fix this!" He asked looking at her desperate for an explanation.

"Damn it Lucas! You can't fix this!"

"I will! Just tell me Brooke!"

"It's…it's just not right." She mumbled.

"Not right…what the hell do you mean by that?" He asked looking confused.

"Us, you and me…this" She said gesturing between the two of them "Can't you see that it just can't work?"

"No I don't! Weren't you the one that said that we should try to make it work? Weren't you the one that suggested we should try and get along?"

"I thought it might work but it can't"

"It was working just fine for two weeks now!"

"No it wasn't!"

"I thought we were trying to be friends Brooke, I thought we are friends!"

"Friends? We hardly know each other! We've just met! We're not friends! We can't be!"

"Why? Why can't we be? Yes we've just met two weeks ago, but we will get to know each other, we will be friends in time. I thought that was what we agreed to do. What made you change your mind? Why would you just want to stop this all of a sudden?"

"It's just too hard!" Brooke yelled as she bit her lip to stop it from quivering.

* * *

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Rachel asked Felix as they both stood outside the room's door with their heads glued to the door.

"No, the damn music is too loud. It's no use, I can't make out what they're saying" He said as he backed away from the door.

"Damn it!" Rachel said as she too backed away. "So what now?" she asked turning to him.

"Well, they're still talking, whatever they're saying is irrelevant. We just have to wait"

"How long have they been in there anyway?" She asked getting impatient.

"About ten minutes, let's give them some time Rachel. Apparently they're fighting. He was pissed; I'd say he was jealous."

"Damn it, all this waiting is driving me crazy! Maybe we should go get Peyton already"

"Not yet" Felix objected sternly. "It won't do us much good if she saw them fighting, they would be able to cover it up"

"But what if they don't do anything?"

"Didn't you see the way they looked at each other back there? They are going to do something, trust me"

Rachel was about to reply when a frantic looking Heather appeared from the stairs.

"Rach! Thank God I've found you!"

"What's wrong Heather?" Rachel asked annoyed to be interrupted.

"One of your neighbors is here. He's threatening to call the cops if we don't keep it down"

"Shit!" Rachel exclaimed. "It must be that imbecile, Mr. Jones"

"I don't know, but he seemed really determined. Anna is trying to calm him down but it's not working"

Rachel looked at Felix unsure.

"I think I might need your help with this one" She said.

"Let's go" He said with a shrug "We still have time for this" He added quietly as he ushered a reluctant Rachel down the stairs.

* * *

"Why? Why is this so hard for you?" Lucas asked taking a step towards her.

"Lucas…just drop it!" Brooke said backing away.

"I won't! Tell me Brooke, please!"

"Why? Why can't you just let it go?" She said in a trembling voice.

"How can I? You don't even talk to me anymore! You don't even look at me!"

"I haven't talked with you for three days, why does this bother you so much?"

"Why? You wanna know why? Because I've missed you Brooke! I've missed you so much"

"Don't say that!" She said taking a step backwards while she was looking at him with wide eyes.

"It's true, okay? I've missed our talks, I've missed the time we'd spent together! I've missed you!"

"Don't you see Lucas? It's only been three days! You shouldn't have missed me! It shouldn't have bothered you! You should have missed Peyton not me!" Brooke yelled at him.

"Peyton? What does Peyton have to do with this?" He asked taken aback.

"She's your damn girlfriend! You say you've missed the time we've spent together, how about the time you're not spending with Peyton?"

"So that's why you're avoiding me! What? Are you punishing me this way?" He asked bitterly.

"I don't wanna punish you! Lucas can't you see how wrong all this is?"

"I know, okay? I know this is wrong. But that doesn't change anything! It doesn't change the fact that I did miss you! And you can say whatever you want but I know you feel the same way too"

"No, I don't." Brooke said shaking her head furiously.

"Denying it is not gonna make it go away, Brooke!"

"I told you I don't! I didn't!" She denied again.

"Nathan's keeping you so busy?" He asked with a bitter smile, narrowing his eyes at her.

"What if he is?" She replied turning cold suddenly.

"So you're having a good time with my brother?" He said with a snort starting to walk to her, decreasing the distance between them dangerously.

"Of course" Brooke replied starting to feel uneasy but still standing her ground this time.

"And you really like him?" He asked as he took another step.

"What do you mean? Of course I do"

"Then why aren't the two of you together Brooke? Why haven't you done anything with him?"

"Wh-What? I…I don't have to explain myself to you! This does not concern you!" She said starting to back away again.

"Oh I think it does! I think we've already made that clear"

"What I do or don't do with Nate has nothing to do with you! Don't be such an egoistic ass!"

"You haven't even let him kiss you Brooke!"

"How do you know that? He…he told you?" She stuttered and took another step back, by now she had almost reached the wall.

"Of course he did! He's my damn brother and he can't understand what's holding you back!" He yelled starting to move forward once again "So what is it?" He added.

"I don't have to tell you!"

"No you really don't, cause I already know" He said taking an eerily calm tone.

"You know shit!"

"Don't I Brooke? Really?" He asked and took another step. One more and they would be only inches apart.

"Lucas stop, what do you think you're doing?" Brooke asked with dread as she felt her back touch the wall.

"Why haven't you kissed him Brooke? What is holding you back? _Who_ is holding you back?"

"Lucas...please…we can't!" She said in despair.

"We can't what Brooke? Why are you avoiding me? What are you afraid of?"

She just shook her head unable to reply as she felt the first tear trickling down her cheek.

"Are you afraid that I might see how you feel? That you might see how I feel the same?"

"Lucas…" She whispered as the tears were now running freely down her face.

"Would you stop me, like you've stopped him? Can you?" He asked quietly bringing his face close to hers and looking straight into her tear-filled eyes.

The door flung open at that point and Lucas startled turned his head back to that direction.

"Dude…this is not the bathroom" A tall guy said as he leaned against the doorframe "Where the fuck is it?" He continued as he turned around and stumbled out of the room closing the door behind him.

"Oh my God!" Brooke said covering her mouth with her hands as soon as the door closed again.

"It's okay…we didn't do anything, he didn't see anything" Lucas said hastily.

"Okay? Nothing is okay about this! This is so screwed up!" She yelled.

"Brooke, calm down! He was pissed and drunk; he didn't even know where he was going"

"Don't tell me to calm down! You! You stay the fuck away from me!" Brooke said as she pushed Lucas and started to walk to the door.

"Brooke!" He yelled grabbing her arm.

"No! I mean it Lucas, you stay the fuck away! This…what we almost did…it can't happen again!" She yelled back yanking her arm free.

"Brooke wait, we need to talk about this!"

"No! Okay? What can I do to get it through to your thick skull! There's nothing to say! This conversation is over! You and me; we are over! In fact, there was never even an "us", nor will there ever be! You stay away from me, you don't talk to me! We have to stop this now! This won't happen again, ever! I won't let it!" She concluded and stormed out of the room.

"I don't know if I can stop" Lucas mumbled to himself as he was left alone in the empty room.

* * *

Brooke ran down the stairs wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible. She knew she had to find Peyton and especially Nathan since they had come together but she was in no state to talk to either of them really. Also the risk of facing Lucas again was one that she couldn't afford right now. Not after what almost happened in that room.

She avoided going into the main room and continued to the hallway and out of the house ignoring whoever tried to talk to her on her way. She finally made it out relieved that Lucas hadn't decided to follow her. She stopped for a second. Nathan had given her a ride here so she didn't have her car. Whatever, she would just walk; her place was not that far away anyway. She started walking quickly when she saw Nathan standing in front of his car looking rather frustrated. He saw her as well and looked at her in question.

"Brooke? What are you doing out here?" He asked walking to her. As he got closer he noticed her face, it was obvious that she had been crying. "What happened? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

Brooke looked up at his eyes that were looking at her with concern. Without giving him an answer she grabbed him and pulled his head down to her height, crashing her lips against his. Nathan was shocked and at first unable to respond just trying to understand what was happening. Brooke however didn't seem willing to let go and he found himself soon responding to the kiss placing his arms at her waist and pulling her to him. She started to deepen the kiss and all the questions he had in his head instantly disappeared. Brooke pulled away breathless and moved her hands to his shirt starting to unbutton it.

"Wh-what are you doing Brooke?" He asked trying to pull away.

"What does it look like?" She asked hoarsely as she tried to grab him again.

"Brooke, no, wait" He protested using up all his will power as she tried to kiss him again.

"Don't you think we've waited enough?" She asked capturing his lips again.

He felt himself loosing his self-control once again but something was telling him that this was not exactly right.

"Look, you're upset. Tell me what's wrong. You can talk to me about it" He said after breaking their kiss once again.

"No more talking" She replied with a firm tone and starting kissing him again.

That was about as much as he could take so he gave in, kissing her passionately while his hands started to roam her body. Not breaking their kiss this time Brooke started unbuttoning his shirt and let her hands to feel his well-toned chest. He didn't know how long they had been kissing and he was completely lost in the feeling. He had waited two damned weeks for this moment. He suddenly felt her hands tug at his belt and after letting out a frustrated groan he once again pulled away.

"Brooke, stop!" He said his voice sounding harsh because of the effort it took him to stop her yet again.

"What?!" She asked seeming annoyed.

"This is not right. You are not alright" He said calmer this time.

"I'm perfectly fine!" Brooke huffed.

"Brooke, you have been crying, I can see it. And then you come here and start to kiss me. Please just tell me what happened" He said softly.

"Don't you want me to kiss you Nathan? Don't you want _me_?" She asked looking hurt.

"Of course I do! You know I do! You were the one that asked me to take things slow"

Brooke nodded and bit her lip nervously.

"So will you tell me what came over you just now?"

"You don't want me anymore then?" She asked unable to find an answer to his question.

"Oh Brooke, you know I do. But not like this. Not when you're clearly so upset about something. Not when I don't know why you're doing this" He concluded.

"I'm doing it because I want you too Nathan. It's as simple as that" She said looking into his eyes shyly.

A wide smile spread on his face.

"You do?"

"Uh-huh" Brooke nodded and was ready to reach up and kiss him again but he interrupted.

"I want you Brooke, but I don't want this. Not this way anyway" He continued.

"What do you mean?" She asked looking confused.

"I care about you Brooke. I don't want a quickie in the parking lot with you. I want more. Much more"

Brooke lowered her head and when she looked up at him he saw new tears spilling from her eyes.

"You're right. I want more too Nathan." She agreed quietly.

Nathan grinned again and gently wiped her tears with his thumb. Looking at her intently it was his turn to lean to her and capturing her lips in a gentle and soft kiss this time.

They broke the kiss and both smiled to each other.

"Are you okay now?" He asked her.

"I am" She nodded.

"And does this mean that we…?" He trailed off still feeling a little unsure and confused.

"It sure does, _boyfriend_" Brooke said with wider smile this time.

* * *

**_AN:_** This one goes to all the Brathan fans…I know it's not the ideal situation, but at least we had some long overdue progress:) 


	18. What Have You Done?

_**AN: **__Sorry, sorry! It's been forever since I've last updated I know! But an emergency business trip got in the way and then exams and bluh bluh...you know the deal! Anyway, I hope you haven't given up on my story and I promise this won't happen again (hopefully!). I've already written half of the next chapter so that is gonna be up soon for sure! _

_Now about the last chapter...the amount of reviews it got was overwhelming! Thank you so much! Every single comment makes happier than you can possibly imagine! _

_I'm glad you've liked both the Brucas and Brathan part. I have to admit though I wanted to depict Nathan as a nice guy he's turning out much nicer than I'd planned too! Maybe it's the contradiction with Lucas who as usual doesn't know what he wants or how to get what he wants... and Brooke that wants one thing and acts upon another...Oh and about that "boyfriend" in the end...it killed me to write it as well!!! So about Brucas...you'll see some developments in the next chapter...don't worry you won't have to wait too long! _

* * *

_**Chapter 18**_

_**What Have You Done?**_

A loud ringing noise pierced his ears. He buried his head further into the pillow and willed the annoying noise to stop. It didn't. He felt his head pound and reached out his hand across to turn off the alarm clock that caused the offending sound. However, his hand found nothing but air where his nightstand with the clock should be. He felt puzzled and tried again, but apparently with no success. The damn noise hadn't stopped and it only seemed to him that it grew louder and louder. Letting out a frustrated groan he turned around in his bed so he could see where the damn noise came from only to end up on the floor with a loud thud. "What the fuck?" He wondered out loud, obviously irritated as he finally opened his eyes and tried to survey his surroundings, squinting at the blinding sunlight that escaped his blinds and filled the room. Only he wasn't in his bedroom, he realized the he had apparently slept on their living room's couch and had just fallen off of the stupid thing. The ringing noise insisted and Lucas raised his head from the floor and took a disoriented glance around trying to trace its source. Next to him on the coffee table, next to a half-empty bottle of scotch he spotted his flashing cell phone. Obviously this was where that annoying sound came from.

"Who the hell could this be?" He asked himself with irritation evident in his voice.

He reached out his hand and took it looking at the screen that had "Peyton" flashing on it. He hesitated on answering it for a few seconds and just when he was ready to do so, it stopped ringing. Letting out a resigned sigh, he scrambled to his feet while leaning on the couch for support. His head was killing him and his stomach wasn't in a particular better shape. He assumed he had to thank the scotch for that. It has been such a long time since he last had a hangover this killer. What the hell happened last night?

_When __Brooke stormed out of that room in Rachel's place, he remained standing there almost frozen. He wanted to go after her, to stop her and make her listen to him, listen to reason. What was really the reasonable thing to do in their situation? He knew she was right. The two of them were walking through dangerous territory since the first moment they met. He had to agree with her, they weren't friends and they probably couldn't ever be friends. To be honest, he didn't even want them to be friends, not just friends anyway. He had come to terms with the fact that he wanted her, there was no use lying to his self anymore. But that really didn't help him all that much. What was he supposed to do? Tell her how much he wanted her? Let her know how he kept on thinking about her, needing to be near her? Look where just telling her he had missed her had taken them. _

_In that room, where they were __all alone he couldn't stop himself. If only that stupid jerk hadn't interrupted them he would have finally kissed her. She didn't seem like she was going to stop him, he was sure she couldn't help herself any more than he could. But seconds later, there she was yelling at him. Crying and yelling…it was the second time he had managed to make her cry and it broke his heart to know that. She had demanded that he stayed away from her, and though he didn't want to, he had to agree that this seemed to be the only sensible solution. But he was also sure he wouldn't be able to do it. He didn't want to do it. But though she was yelling and demanding he could see how desperate she felt and at least at that moment he obliged and hadn't followed her. What could he say to comfort her anyway? What could he do to make things better?_

_The idea of breaking things up with Peyton had crossed his mind on several occasions. But what good would that do anyway? It was not like he would be able to go after Brooke when he broke things off with Peyton. It wasn't even just Peyton's feelings that he had to consider, it was Nathan's as well. After all, he might have been attracted to Brooke but he still loved Peyton. Didn't he? She hadn't done anything wrong to deserve this. He loved Peyton, he didn't want to cause her pain and he knew Brooke felt the same way. Once again he realized that they were in a dead-end. They really had no way out. But that didn't stop him from feeling the way he did. _

_He finally collected his thoughts and decided he had to join the others.__ He was also worried about Brooke. She was so upset when she left and he wanted, no, needed to know that she was okay. He walked back in the living room where the party was still at full swing and started looking around. No sign of Brooke, not that he was really surprised. As he spotted their group of friends, he noticed that Brooke wasn't the only one missing. Peyton and Nathan weren't there either. Was Brooke with one of them? And what would she say if they saw her in the state she was when she left? She had been crying when she left him in that room, what excuse could she possibly find this time? But honestly he didn't care that much, he just wished at this point that she wasn't alone in her condition. Even if she was with Nathan, he would feel better than if she had left alone. "Maybe they know where she is" He thought as he slowly made his way towards his friends._

"_Luke, here you are!" Jake said letting out a sigh of relief._

"_Uh? What's wrong?" Lucas asked panicking as he noticed his friend's worried expression. Had something happened to Brooke? _

"_Nathan's been looking for you" Jake replied._

"_Nathan? Why? What's wrong?" He repeated in alarm. He really doubted Brooke told him anything but maybe he had found her crying? _

"_Someone slashed his tires, man" Jake said sadly._

"_Wh-What?!" Lucas asked in shock._

"_The alarm went off about 20 minutes ago, he went out and found that the front tires had been slashed" Jake explained._

"_Who the fuck would do a thing like that?!" Lucas yelled outraged._

"_Beats me, probably someone too drunk to realize what he was doing or to whom he was doing it to"_

"_Fuck, Dan is gonna be thrilled." He said sarcastically "Where is Nathan? Did he call Keith? I should go find him. Where did he park the car?"_

"_Wait, wait. Nathan's not here, he had to leave"_

"_What?! Leave?__ Where did he go? What about the car? Don't tell me he went and left the car behind?!" He asked in disbelief._

"_Yeah, he came here about five minutes ago and told me he had to take Brooke home cause she wasn't feeling well"_

"_Brooke? Wh-What's wrong with Brooke?" Lucas stuttered._

"_Nathan told me she had too much to drink, so he had to take her home and make sure she was okay"_

"_Did you see her, how did she look?" He asked anxiously._

"_No, no, I didn't. I think she was outside with Nathan and he just came in to let me know they were leaving"_

_Lucas nodded in reply. Apparently she wasn't able to hide how upset she felt and she blamed it on alcohol. She sure didn't seem that drunk to him when they were together. Of course he had seen her drink a lot tonight but in that room she seemed somber. This was just an excuse. So Nathan took Brooke home. That was a good thing, right? At least she wasn't alone. Nathan would take care of her, make sure she was okay. But wasn't Peyton more suitable for this job, being her best friend and all?_

"_Where is Peyton?" He asked urgently._

"_I thought she was upstairs with you" Jake said with a shrug._

"_No, I wasn't able to find her."_

"_She's probably still upstairs."_

"_Why didn't Nathan call for her? If Brooke's not feeling well, Peyton would want to be there"_

"_He told me he had it under control; he didn't want to worry her."_

_Lucas sighed; Nathan had better not have in mind taking advantage of the situation! He didn't feel bad at all thinking this way about his brother. That was what Nathan did, taking advantage of girls, using them. The thing was he really doubted he would try that with Brooke, he seemed to really care about her. Anyway, she wasn't even drunk!_

"_Anyway, Nathan said to tell you to take care of the car." Jake continued interrupting his thoughts._

"_Excuse me?!" _

"_He said he was sorry but…"_

"_But what?! Why can't he come to get his own car?" He interrupted._

"_He had to take Brooke home, right?" _

"_He could come back after taking her there!" Lucas insisted with anger._

"_Maybe he wants to stay with her…?" Jake said in question looking at Lucas suspiciously. Lucas was really overreacting._

"_You've got to be kidding me?! He can stay with her another time! I don't have to pick up his car for him!" _

"_He probably wanted to make sure she was alright, not wanting to leave her alone in her state"_

_Lucas just shook his head too angry to say anything else and grabbed his cell._

"_What are you doing?" Jake asked._

"_I'm calling him! I have my own car here and I have to take Pey home! I don't need to have to take care of him as well!"_

_Jake just shrugged surprised by Lucas's anger while Lucas tried the number._

"_Damn! His cell is off! This is just great!" He said after slamming the phone shut._

"_Look, if you need me to do anything?" Jake offered._

"_No, man. Thanks. I'll go get Peyton" Lucas mumbled and left Jake there wondering what was wrong with him._

_He had gone upstairs and located Peyton in the room next to the one Rachel had sent him to. The weird thing was that she denied having asked for his help earlier. Did Rachel misunderstand something? Anyway__ not dueling on that for long, he explained to Peyton what had happened and she tried calling Brooke to see if she was okay. Her cell was off just like Nathan's and Peyton thought she'd better not call home in case she was already asleep. After all Nathan had taken her home so she was reassured that nothing bad would happen to her. Lucas didn't feel as comforted by that thought. However, his outburst to Jake was enough to cool him off a bit and allow reason to settle. Nathan and Brooke had been alone countless of times and nothing had happened between them. So tonight of all nights he shouldn't worry, he should be grateful someone was there for her, although he wanted to be that someone but he knew that wasn't possible. _

_He had taken Peyton home__, then drove to Keith's and took the tow truck to return to Rachel's and gather Nathan's car. He left it at the garage and took his own car home. All this had taken him more than an hour and he expected to find Nathan home by now. Intending to find out how Brooke was he headed to Nathan's room but he wasn't there. After a quick look around the rooms downstairs he knew Nathan hadn't returned yet. He was apparently still at Brooke's house; he was still with Brooke. He managed to wait for about half an hour more before he sneaked in his dad's study and found his scotch stash he had hidden there from his step-mom. He had tried calling Nathan many times again only to get his voice mail. He didn't know if he felt worried or angry. Was Brooke feeling that bad that Nathan had to stay with her? Or was something else going on? But like what?_

_He had made himself comfortable at the living room__ couch, staring at the empty space while drinking his scotch, willing Nathan to return home as soon as possible. Waiting for Nathan to return home for hours was becoming a habit he didn't really enjoy. Usually it would be at his bed staring at the ceiling just waiting to hear him come back so that his anguish could be over and he would sleep. It was quite ridiculous, really; it wasn't like he had any control or knowledge about what Nathan had been doing with her before his return, but he still felt better to know that the two of them had separated for the night. Moreover after Nathan's revelations about what he did do or actually didn't do with Brooke, just hearing him come back home before dawn was enough to reassure Lucas that nothing had gone on between them once again, that Brooke didn't allow anything to happen. However, this night he couldn't just stay in bed and wait. He needed to talk to Nathan; he needed to know what had happened and he needed to know what she had told him and especially he needed to know how she was. _

But apparently he somehow fell asleep there while waiting. And now here he was waking up with a huge hangover feeling like shit…wait a sec! Did this mean what he thought it did? Had Nathan not come back for the night? Had he spent his night at Brooke's? Lucas rushed upstairs stumbling on the stairs and pushed the door in Nathan's room open forcefully. Looking at the bed that was made and seeing no Nathan around he leaned back at the wall as he suddenly felt the need to steady himself as extreme dizziness came over him. Nathan had spent the night at Brooke's. Nathan and Brooke had spent the night together. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions. Maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed to be. God knows he had jumped to conclusions before, only to realize that she was playing with him all along. But somehow he doubted she would have tried something like this after what had happened yesterday. No, he had to accept the fact…or he just had to learn the facts. Maybe they did spend the night together but that didn't mean they actually did something, right? Maybe he had just crushed at her place, after all he didn't have a car, and she could have told him to stay there. Maybe he stayed to make sure she was ok. That must have been it, something like that. Brooke couldn't possibly have done something like this. Not that night, not after he told her how he felt…well sort of. She just couldn't. He heard the ringing noise coming from downstairs again. He didn't feel like talking to Peyton right now. He had to find Nathan. He had to know what happened and stop imagining the worse. But maybe Peyton had an idea of what had happened? Maybe she had talked to Brooke? This last thought made him run downstairs again stumbling on his way as he still felt lightheaded. He stumbled on the coffee table and frantically reached for his cell almost knocking the scotch bottle over. Thankfully he was able to get it in time.

"Hey!" He said breathlessly as he picked the phone up.

"Good morning, Luke" Peyton said cheerfully at the other end of the line.

"Urm…yeah, morning" He mumbled in response.

"Are you okay? You don't sound that good"

"Yeah…I'm fine. I just woke up. You?"

"I'm ok. I called you a while ago"

"Oh, I didn't hear it, like I said I just woke up"

"Did everything go ok with the car last night?" Peyton asked concerned.

"Yeah, I left it at Keith's; I'll call him later to let him know"

"Oh, good"

"Have you talked to Brooke?" He asked abruptly having enough with the pleasantries.

"Yeah, yeah I called her when you didn't answer"

"Was she okay?" He asked urgently.

"She said she was fine, she just has a slight hangover"

Lucas nodded his head unconsciously.

"Nathan didn't come home last night" He stated.

"Really?! She didn't tell me anything! That little skank!" Peyton replied surprised. "That's why she told me she would let him know about breakfast!" She continued with a giggle.

Lucas felt frustrated; he wasn't going to get any answers from Peyton apparently. But maybe the fact that Brooke hadn't mentioned anything was a good thing. Maybe not saying anything meant that there wasn't anything to tell.

"Breakfast?" He asked perplexed after reaching his relieving conclusion.

"Yeah, we're meeting at the café for breakfast. Actually that's why I called you, to see if you can make it. Jake and Haley are coming too"

"Erm…yeah, yeah I can make it. What do you think happened?" He asked Peyton again.

"With Brooke and Nate?"

"Well...yeah!" He said exasperated. She should have an idea; she had talked to Brooke after all.

"I don't know…I'll make her tell me as soon as I see her! Hm…do you think something good happened?" Peyton asked sounding excited.

"How could I possibly know?!" Lucas said irritated.

"Well, I hope it did! It was about time!"

"What time at the café?" He asked coldly obviously not sharing his girlfriend's excitement.

"In about twenty minutes. Is it ok for you?"

"Yeah, I'll be there" He replied tiredly.

"Will you drop by to…Lucas?" Peyton started saying but she was interrupted by the sound of the dial tone as Lucas had already shut his cell. Peyton looked perplexed at her cell for a second and then started to get ready wondering what had gotten Luke into such a bad mood again this time.

* * *

Nathan parked Brooke's blue bug across the café and they both got out. Nathan had an excited look on his face and smiled as he offered her his hand. Brooke on the other hand was feeling extremely nervous. She gave him a weak smile on an attempt to hide her thoughts as she hesitantly took his offered hand in hers and they started walking towards the café. 

She had agreed when Peyton suggested they should all meet for breakfast thinking that it would happen sooner or later, she couldn't expect this to be kept a secret, but right now she wanted nothing more than to run away from there.

After the incident at the parking lot, she and Nathan had walked to her home. He kept asking her what made her that upset and she ended up blaming alcohol and Rachel, telling him that the two of them had an exchange of words without getting into too many details. Anyway, Nathan was too happy with the turn things had taken to question her further or doubt her sincerity. She had also told him that she was upset because Felix told her that Nathan was also upset because of his car and she got worried when she couldn't find him after he had asked for her. That was when Nathan had surprisingly told her that he hadn't asked for her. He was angry of course with what had happened but he wasn't as upset as Felix made it sound and in no case had he asked Felix of all people to go find her. He also hadn't gone upstairs at all. After seeing what had happened with his car he had tried to find Lucas, but obviously he wasn't able to, as Lucas was with Brooke at the time. Then after he and Tim tried to think if they could imagine who would do something like that and had come up with nothing, he went back outside and he was just about to call his uncle to come and get the car when Brooke had found him there and he forgot all about his car.

At this revelation Brooke felt petrified. It immediately clicked to her. Felix had purposely sent her to that room not to find Nathan, but Lucas. Rachel also hadn't mistakenly given the wrong room to Lucas. She had planned to send him to the room she was. Apparently both of them had planned this together so they could get Brooke and Lucas alone in the same room. And this could only mean one thing, Brooke concluded with dread. Rachel and Felix were on to them. Somehow, and she really had no idea how, they had managed to realize that something was going on between her and Lucas. Had they overheard them sometime as they were talking together at school? It was not like they said or did anything wrong there anyway. Had they seen them together at Tric's the first night this mess had started? She really doubted it and it didn't make much difference anyway. The important thing was that they knew or thought they knew something and they were trying to trap them. Great, like things weren't bad on their own the two of them had to make them even worse. She shivered at the thought of how close they were to getting caught. She wondered how Rachel and Felix had let that guy interrupt her and Lucas in the room. She really couldn't imagine why they had done that but she thanked the heavens they had. Now she had to watch her every move around Lucas even more than before, knowing that the two of them were apparently watching and waiting to reveal their secret. She had to throw them off. Whatever they thought they couldn't possible be sure. After all, taking aside the way she felt, the way Lucas felt, they hadn't done anything that could be thought of as wrong. Not yet, though they came close lots of times. But as she had told him she wouldn't let that happen again, and thankfully she had already taken a step into the right direction.

One would consider what happened with Nathan at that parking lot quite embarrassing. But he had acted so sweetly she really didn't feel that way at all. When they eventually arrived at her home he offered to leave and let her rest but she had invited him in, since she didn't really want to be left alone. If she stayed alone then she would start thinking about what she had done and about why she had done it and she really didn't feel like doing any introspection at that moment. So they had settled at the living room and they started talking about this and that for a while, with her trying to force the thoughts of her boyfriend's brother out of her head. It wasn't working though. She couldn't stop thinking about him as usual. All she could think about was how he was going to react. Would he be sad, angry, jealous? All of the above maybe? He was bound to realize that what happened between them that night was what pushed her into Nathan's arms and she really didn't know how he was going to deal with that knowledge. In the unlikely case he actually confronted her, she would once again deny it of course, as she had done whenever he pushed her to admit how she felt about him. The thing was she knew she wasn't really convincing him, because though with her words she denied it, her actions showed quite the opposite. She would have kissed him for pete's sake! She couldn't resist him and the arrogant jerk knew that very well. Obviously she thought guiltily her friendship with Peyton was not enough to hold her back, she just hoped that now that she was dating his own brother he would be the one to hold back, since she couldn't. Pathetic, right? Lame? The coward's way out? Honestly, she didn't care, as she saw it, it was her only choice. Since she couldn't stop herself she just hoped he would. There was of course the danger he would hate her after this…but she decided she would have to learn to live with it. It would be better than her hating herself if they did something to hurt Peyton and the way they were going she was sure that was bound to happen and soon.

While Nathan talked she kept thinking about all this feeling sadder and more desperate by the minute. She also felt guilty as hell, because in order to avoid hurting Peyton she was plainly using Nathan. Nathan that had actually stopped her from having sex with him because he cared too much for her. She cared for him too. She really did. When she had kissed him, it felt good, really good. It just sucked that she had finally found a decent plus gorgeous guy that really cared for her when she had already fallen for someone else. The fact that she would not admit that to Lucas didn't mean she hadn't admitted it to herself. But since nothing could or would ever happen with Lucas, what was she supposed to do anyway? Wallow in self-pity for ever? That was not like her. She was supposed to be stronger than this. She just had to will herself to forget about Lucas. She just had to put her mind into it and she would be able to get over him. It was all a matter of will. And what better way to motivate herself than to find someone else? Someone caring, sweet and hot like Nathan. Downside, he was his brother, but on the upside, that would make Lucas forget about her as well. Lucas, Lucas, Lucas! She was there supposedly listening to Nathan and every other thought she had was about Lucas. How was this supposed to work this way?

Deciding she had enough of thinking she did the only thing she knew to stop herself from thinking. She started kissing Nathan again and he happily obliged. The two of them ended up making out for quite a while but before things got too heated they stopped. Nathan again suggested to leave as it was already too late or early in the morning but since he had no car, she told him to stay…just to sleep. So that was what they eventually did, after making out some more. Brooke had offered to share her bed with him, but Nathan had admitted he had used all the self restrain he possessed for one night so he had crushed at her couch finding it much more comfortable than the thought of sleeping next to her without doing anything.

Peyton had wakened them up the next morning when she called to check upon Brooke. Brooke didn't really feel like telling Peyton on the phone what had happened the previous night, well part of it anyway, or explaining what Nathan was doing sleeping on her couch. So instead, when Peyton suggested that they could all have breakfast together she agreed. They had to tell everybody at some point anyway. So the sooner the better. But right now as she had thought earlier she would have given anything to be anywhere but where she was supposed to go.

* * *

The main topic of conversation was what had happened to Nathan's car. None of the four friends sitting at the café could come up with a reasonable explanation. Sure Nathan had some enemies, like every popular guy in high school that seemed to have everything there were a lot of his fellow students that envied him, but no one could imagine that someone would stoop at something this spiteful. So Peyton, Haley and Jake were all anxious for Nathan to come hoping that he might have an idea about who could do something like this. Lucas was also concerned about what had happened with the car but the answers he needed the most out of Nathan was what had happened between him and Brooke the previous night. All this time he had tried to convince himself that things weren't like they seemed, but when the door of the café opened and he saw Nathan and Brooke walking in hand in hand, all the bad thoughts came rushing back. 

The couple approached the four friends while Lucas and Peyton that were the only ones that knew where Nathan had spent the night kept observing them. Peyton looked at them curiously noticing Nathan's wide grin and Brooke's somewhat uneasy expression. Lucas also noticed their expression and he looked at Brooke trying to find the answers in her eyes but they were as usual avoiding his.

"Hey guys" Nathan greeted cheerfully and Brooke mumbled something like a greeting herself. He pulled over two chairs and they both sat down.

"So what happened with your car, dude?" Jake asked Nathan as soon as the waiter got their order.

"I have no idea, man!" Nathan said as all last night's frustration about his car returned.

"Of course you don't! You just left, dumping the car behind!" Lucas intervened with annoyance.

Everybody at the table looked at him surprised while Brooke just lowered her head.

"Yeah, about that, I'm really sorry, bro" Nathan offered apologetically. "But really I had no other choice. Did you call Keith?" He asked.

"Why, you suddenly care?" Lucas asked in the same tone.

"What? Of course I do!" Nathan protested.

"You didn't seem to care that much last night when you left me to clean up after your mess!"

"Luke…" Peyton said quietly looking at him curiously.

"My mess? How is it my fault that some jerk slashed my tires Luke?" Nathan asked getting agitated himself.

"Nathan…" Brooke in her turn whispered reaching under the table to give his hand a light squeeze.

Her gesture didn't go unnoticed by Lucas who became even more outraged realizing that his first thoughts about what had happened between them might have been right.

"It was your damn responsibility Nathan! This is your car we're talking about! You didn't even give me a call to see what I did! That was how much you cared!"

"I'm sorry! Okay? I said I was sorry!"

"Yeah, you always are!" Lucas replied exasperated.

Jake, Haley and Peyton were throwing uneasy looks at each other trying to find a way to stop the weird fight the two brothers were having.

"It was my fault." Brooke intervened with a firm voice before Nathan had the time to reply making all three of them stare at her surprised.

Nathan also turned to her. "Brooke, really you don't have to…"

"No, Nathan it's okay. It was my fault, Lucas" She repeated fixing her eyes on him that was looking at her intently waiting to hear what she had to say. "I was not feeling well; Nathan offered to take me home. I asked him to stay with me." She said and averted her eyes to gain her courage. "I am sorry" She concluded while she raised her eyes again to meet his after a small pause.

Looking at her eyes he immediately realized she wasn't apologizing for the car and he felt his heart stop. What was she sorry for? What had she done? What had they done?

"Look man, I shouldn't have left like that. Really, I am sorry" Nathan repeated as well.

"I left the car at Keith's, we should give him a call later to let him know" Lucas supplied quietly. His anger had disappeared as the fear of what might have happened had overtaken him letting no room for any other emotion.

A collective sigh of relief was heard from the rest of the group and Peyton send Brooke a grateful smile as she figured she had helped dissolving the dispute between the two siblings. If only she knew…Jake took over and started making suggestions about who might be the culprit in the tires incident and the awkwardness was soon forgotten.

Their food arrived shortly and they all started eating with the guys starting a discussion about next Friday's game that would kick off the basket ball season and the girls pretending to be listening interested to their talk. Lucas wasn't that talkative and the fact that he had caught Brooke looking at him sadly quite a few times although she quickly stopped every time he saw her, didn't help to settle the nauseating feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. He was sure this time it wasn't caused by Dan's scotch.

Brooke was eating her pancakes with as much appetite as she could muster. Lucas was already upset. The news of her and Nathan was bound to drive him up the wall. She just prayed he would be able to control himself, everyone was already suspicious about his outburst before and they couldn't afford another one. Maybe she could avoid him finding out like this, in front of everyone, maybe it would be better if Nathan told him when they were alone. At least then Haley wouldn't have to witness his reaction. She was the one Brooke was most concerned with as she seemed to keep looking at both her and Lucas curiously the whole time they were eating. She was after all the one that knew they had known each other before even is she really didn't know the truth about how. However, as usual her hopes were shuttered only a few seconds later.

As she was eating apparently she got all smudged up with chocolate syrup from the pancakes. Nathan turned to her and let out a small giggle while Peyton from across the table also started laughing.

"You're such a baby, Brookie!" She said mockingly.

Brooke pouted and Nathan laughed louder.

"You're a very cute baby, B" He said sweetly "Here, let me help you with that" He said and softly wiped the chocolate from her chin. Brooke smiled and was about to pull away when he stopped her. "Wait, I didn't get it all" He whispered and leaning to her he gave her a sweet kiss on her lips.

Haley gasped. Jake froze with his fork in front of his mouth. Peyton's eyes widened. Lucas felt like he had just been punched in the gut. Hard, really hard. He gripped the table so hard he felt his knuckles hurt. Nathan turned back to them and looked at their shocked faces.

"What?" He asked grinning "Can't I give a kiss to my girlfriend?" He continued with shining eyes and turned to look at Brooke.

She smiled meekly and glanced around the table starting from Peyton who seemed thrilled with a huge grin on her face, continuing with Jake that was also smiling at them, proceeding to Haley that looked something between angry and disappointed, _it served the bitch right_, concluding with Lucas that looked…Brooke lowered her head not being able to face him. He looked so sad, like a hurt puppy. He looked so surprised, so shocked and hurt she couldn't bare it.

"When did this happen?" Peyton asked still smiling genuinely happy for her friend.

"Last night" Nathan replied returning her smile.

"And why didn't you say something all this time?! B. Davis! How come you didn't tell me earlier on the phone?!" Peyton continued asking excitedly.

Brooke shrugged, not really wanting to get into details about it. Lucas wasn't looking at her anymore and once again she felt like crying. Peyton however was apparently very happy with this development as was Nathan.

"We thought it would be better if we told you together" She finally said quietly.

"Well this is great! Good going Nate, you've finally nailed her" Peyton continued causing Nathan and Jake to laugh.

"Thanks, Pey" He replied laughing. "She gave me a run for my money but I wasn't about to give up"

"Well, not because she's my best friend and all, but she's totally worth it"

"I couldn't agree with you more"

"I'm right here you know!" Brooke intervened.

"Are you embarrassed, baby?" Nathan asked smiling.

"Brooke and embarrassed? You have a lot to learn about her still Nathan!" Peyton said laughing.

Lucas wasn't listening to what they were saying. This did not make sense, it couldn't be truth, it just couldn't. He was right there watching Nathan smiling content, he actually saw him kissing her and he still couldn't believe it. So many nights that he spent sleepless afraid that he was going to hear those words only to be hearing them after last night of all nights. The night he had actually told her, showed her how much she meant to him. No, it really didn't make any sense.

Nathan was now looking at him expectantly, obviously waiting for congratulations or something, but Lucas could hardly form a coherent thought at this point, speaking was out of the question. Did Nathan take advantage of her? But she wasn't drunk, that had just been an excuse! She knew what she was doing! But then why did she do it…and then he felt an even sharper pain go through him…when Nathan said she was his girlfriend…did he actually mean that last night they actually…? Was that that had sealed the deal between them? He had to get out of there before he said or did anything that would blow everything to pieces. He could feel that he was too close to that and he needed time to come to terms with this. To think it through, to understand what was going through her mind when she did what she did. He caught her eyes as she stole a glance at him but it was his turn to avoid her now. He couldn't look at her without seeing his brother kissing her and every time the image came to his head it caused even more pain than before.

"I need to go at Keith's and see about your car" He said looking at Nathan interrupting his joking with Peyton.

"Yeah, sure. I'll come with you" Nathan hastily agreed.

"Do you really have to go now?" Peyton asked pouting.

"We have to take care of it before Dan comes back tomorrow" Lucas replied.

"Okay, but what about after that?"

"What about it?" He asked impatiently.

"C'mon Luke! Have you forgotten again? We said we would spend the day at the beach, there's the last beach party tonight for the end of the summer!" Peyton whined.

"Ugh…we went to a party yesterday, Pey"

"But you've promised Luke! C'mon! Last night was a real disaster we need some fun! You guys are coming right?" She said turning to Brooke and Nathan.

"Yeah, of course" Nathan replied before Brooke had time to react and she only smiled in surrender.

"And you?" Peyton continued turning to Haley and Jake.

"Yeah…" Jake nodded.

"See?" She said turning to Lucas.

"Fine, we'll go. But now we really have to take care of the car"

"I'll come too, you'll need the help" Jake offered.

"Thanks, dude" Nathan said.

"Great! And we" Peyton said turning to the girls "will meet at my place to get ready and we all meet at the beach in let's say, three hours?" She suggested excitedly.

Both Haley and Brooke nodded in agreement not all that eager.

Jake got up and gave a kiss to Haley while Nathan followed suit with Brooke. Lucas could only comply as well, it seemed ridiculous at this point, painfully ridiculous but he guessed that was what he was supposed to do. So giving a peck to Peyton he turned to look at Brooke for the first time after she and Nathan had broke their news to the group.

She caught his eyes and could easily read the accusation in them _"What have you done?". _She could do nothing but agree with him. What had she done?


	19. Boys and Girls

_**Chapter 19**_

_**Boys and Girls**_

Brooke was the first one to arrive at Peyton's though she did take her time on getting there wanting to avoid the questions Peyton would surely have. Unfortunately, it seemed like Haley also planned to avoid spending time with the two of them, so when she got there she only found Peyton who was sitting on her bed listening to one of her favorite bands that Brooke would never learn the names of and sketching at her pad.

"Hey P. Sawyer" She said trying to get the blonde's attention.

"Oh, Brooke! I didn't hear you come in" Peyton said lifting her head from the sketch and smiled at her.

"Gee…I wonder why?" Brooke said mockingly as she walked to the stereo and turned down the volume considerably. "Haley's not here yet?" She asked stating the obvious.

"Nope. And good thing she isn't. This gives us time for you to give me all the juicy details about you and Natey!" Peyton said excited leaving the sketchpad on her bedside table and sitting on her bed Indian style waiting for Brooke to join her.

Brooke took a deep breath and putting on the biggest smile she could muster at the moment approached the bed and followed Peyton's example sitting to face her. Peyton kept looking at her expectantly.

"What is there to say Blondie? You know how these things happen; it wasn't like you weren't expecting it anyway. Nathan and I have been playing with each other for two weeks now. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Well, it was you that said you needed more time. What made you change your mind all of a sudden?"

"I guess I thought I would give it a try" Brooke said with a shrug.

"Ok, Brooke, you're not helping here! I want details! Spill!" Peyton exclaimed impatiently "Did you two get it on yesterday? How was it? Was he good? He has quite a reputation you know!"

"Erm…no we actually didn't."

"What?! No way! But why?" Peyton asked clearly surprised about the news, this was Brooke and Nathan that we are talking about.

"Nathan stopped it because I was too drunk and he said we should take things slowly as I had asked him before"

"Awww! That's so sweet! My God Davis, Nathan turned down sex? This has got to be a dream! He has really fallen hard for you!" Peyton swooned.

"I guess" Brooke said with a weak smile forcing the guilt down.

"Okay…so you didn't have sex. But I bet you did other things…so do tell!"  
Peyton squealed.

"He's a good kisser" Brooke offered.

"Mhmm…" Peyton mumbled and looked at her waiting for more but since she didn't seem willing to say anything her own expression changed and the smile left her face. "Are you regretting it?" She asked seriously.

"What?! No! What gave you that idea?" Brooke asked getting defensive.

"Because you keep on avoiding the subject! It's pretty clear that you don't want to talk about it! If you were happy with this you would." Peyton almost yelled at her. "Tell me what's wrong, Brooke"

"No, no. It's nothing like that! Nathan is such an amazing guy, I haven't changed my mind! Hell, Blondie, I just got with him yesterday after two weeks of waiting, why would I change my mind now?"

"Then why don't I believe you? Why don't you look more excited about it? You were drunk yesterday; maybe that's why you agreed with this. But really Brooke if it's not what you want then you should…"

"No, no! You've got it all wrong. It is what I want Pey, otherwise I wouldn't have done it"

"Are you sure?" Peyton insisted eyeing her skeptically.

"Yes!" Brooke replied emphatically.

"Ok…but you would tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Yes, Blondie I would!"

"Promise?"

"Pey!" Brooke yelled with frustration.

"Ok, ok…I'm sorry. But you know…it seems like everyone is keeping things from me these days"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brooke asked confused.

"Well, you're acting all weird about you and Nate and don't tell me why. Lucas is being all weird as well, acts like a first class jerk and won't tell me what's bugging him…" Peyton said with a sigh.

Brooke bit her lip.

"Yeah, he seemed really upset today" She agreed quietly.

"You remember I told you that day at the beach that he seemed distant and like he was trying to avoid me?"

Brooke just nodded.

"Well…the last couple of days, things got even worse…he is always in such a bad mood… I don't know what to do!"

"Oh…but he seemed okay at the party"

"Yeah…at first. But you should have seen him when we left!"

"Was he upset?" Brooke murmured looking down at her hands to avoid Peyton's eyes.

"Upset I would understand, considering the whole car incident. But he was way more than upset! He just dropped me off here hardly saying a word to me all the way here and you saw today how he got with Nathan"

"Yeah…" Brooke nodded again swallowing hard to get rid of the lump that was forming in her throat.

"I mean I understand how brothers can get angry about stupid things like that…but Lucas really went off at Nate without a reason! Lucas isn't like that! Or at least he wasn't like that, but now, I don't know anymore."

"I think it's like you said, brothers can be like that with each other. I mean we fight for stupid stuff like that and we're friends"

"I don't know, Brooke. I'm sure something is really wrong with him. I just wish he would tell me. Do you think he doesn't want to be with me anymore?"

"What?! No! C'mon Blondie! Lucas…he… he… he loves you!" Brooke objected but saying the last part in a softer tone, almost like a whisper. She did try her best to let the words flow smoothly from her lips and avoid choking.

"I'm not so sure anymore" Peyton said sadly shaking her head.

"Pey! Stop with that! I'm sure whatever's been bugging him has nothing to do with you!"

"Do you think I should talk to him?"

"No!" Brooke shouted immediately.

"Uh?" Peyton looked at her surprised.

"I mean…give him some time to get over his problem. If something is wrong with him, then you putting him under more stress wouldn't be right and he might just overreact like he did with the whole car incident." Brooke tried to provide an explanation. The last thing she needed right now was Peyton pushing Lucas as well.

"But what if his problem is me?" Peyton insisted not convinced by her explanation.

"It isn't. He's in a bad mood as you said. Why would he fight with Nathan if whatever his problem is was about you?"

"Maybe he just needed to vent out on someone"

"Gee Pey, you have an answer for everything? I just can't understand what makes you so sure he's problem is with you! I think that by talking to him you will just create a mess for nothing! You should just be there for him and help him go through whatever it is he's dealing with."

"Yeah, I guess if it is something else I would only be adding to his problems"

"Exactly. Just relax and give him sometime. I'm sure everything will be back to normal in no time"

Peyton nodded reluctantly and her eyes shifted as she noticed Haley getting into the room.

"Hey Hales"

"Hi, sorry I'm late. I couldn't find my bathing suit" Haley explained.

"Don't worry, Brooke just got here herself"

Haley nodded in response.

"So…you've got your stuff?" Peyton asked getting up from the bed.

"Yeah, here they are" Haley said raising her hand that was holding an oversized brown duffel bag.

"Good! So let's try out our swim suits, ladies!" Peyton suggested as she opened her closet drawer to get her own.

"Ok, I'll go first!" Brooke said excitedly as she jumped from the bed and picking up her own pink bag she had left by the bed entered the bathroom.

Haley sat on the bed at the place Brooke had just vacated.

"I just don't get what's the point in this" She said after a while.

"The point in what?" Peyton asked as she stood up with her blue bikini in hand.

"The point of all of us coming here to wear our swim suits. Couldn't we do it at our own home?"

"The point Tutor-girl is for us girls to have fun!" Brooke replied as she got out of the bathroom in a skimpy black bikini. "So, how do I look?" She asked turning to Peyton and twirling around so she could get a better look at her.

"Whoaa! B. Davis, Nate is gonna be drooling all over you! Good thing you two are finally together because the poor guy won't be able to keep his hands off you if he sees you like this!"

Haley also eyed Brooke up and down. She had to admit, Brooke Davis was a very impressive girl. Stupid, sluttish and selfish but really beautiful. No wonder she was able to get Nathan to fall for her.

"Well, that's the whole point, isn't it?" Brooke replied with a smirk as she inspected herself at the full length mirror at Peyton's closet.

"Ok, Hales your turn" Peyton urged after shaking her head at Brooke's words.

"Okay" Haley said reluctantly and walked into the bathroom.

Brooke took out her make up bag and started with that while Peyton just waited for Haley to finish so she could go change next. A few minutes later Haley re-emerged from the bathroom wearing her black one-piece. She slowly walked in the room feeling extremely self-conscious. Seriously, how could she feel comfortable with Brooke who always looked so damn perfect around? Peyton noticed her uneasiness and gave her an encouraging smile. She was about to speak when Brooke beat her to it.

"Whoaa! Tutor-girl, you look hot!" She squealed excitedly.

Haley looked at her suspiciously. Was there an insult hidden somewhere in her words? No, they were pretty simple. And she did seem to be smiling genuinely at her.

"Thanks" She replied quietly.

"No! Seriously! You have a great body! I can't understand why you choose to hide it under all that hideous clothes!"

See…here goes the insult! Well, Haley didn't expect any better anyway. But put the insult aside she was surprised to realize she felt somewhat flattered by Brooke's "sort of" compliments and that's why her answer wasn't as bitchy as she would expect it to be.

"I just don't believe in showing it off. And it is not that good really"

"Trust Brooke, Hales, it is" Peyton decided to help Brooke with this one.

"Yeah, Tutor-girl! And I don't mean that you have to dress like a slut like our friend Rach-ho does! I just think that getting rid of the extra-large t-shirts and shaggy jeans could do miracles for you!"

Haley couldn't help but let out a giggle. I mean how could she resist a dig at her second least favorite girl in the world? Yes, Brooke would have to hold first place, but right now she didn't seem so bitchy. Again she couldn't find an insult in her words and she eyed the girl with a hint of suspicion.

"How about you let me pick out something for you from my stuff for today? We are about the same size"

Haley's eyes widened and she looked horrified.

"Nah…I don't think so" She said shaking her head.

"C'mon! Let me just try and if you don't like it you can change back to your own clothes. No one besides me and Peyton will see…so where's the harm?"

"But…but what will you wear?"

"Oh, I brought more than one outfits anyway since I couldn't make up my mind at home" Brooke said with a shrug.

"Typical" Peyton muttered with amusement.

"I don't know…" Haley hesitated again although she started finding the idea intriguing. As Brooke had said, worst case she would look at the mirror to find herself looking like a hoe and would change right away.

"Humor me! And believe me Tutor-girl, when I'm finished with you Jagielski won't believe you're his girlfriend!"

"That's what I'm afraid of!" Haley protested causing both Brooke and Peyton to laugh.

"Ok, I'm letting you two do that and I'll go put on my bathing suit. Hales, relax and enjoy it!" Peyton said smiling encouragingly as she left the two girls alone in her room.

Brooke immediately started rummaging through her bag throwing various items of particular tiny bits of clothing on the bed, Haley noticed in increasing alarm. Brooke turned to her and after looking at her carefully making her even more uncomfortable she turned back to her sorting out the clothes while speaking obviously to herself.

"Hm…I think a skirt would be good. I have a light green one here, I think it will go well with your colors and a simple tank top would be good. Too bad I didn't brink that flowery one with me…but really its coloring is all wrong for me. I don't know why I even bought it in the first place, you know?"

Haley wondered if this required an answer from her but thankfully since she had no idea on how to reply Brooke just went on.

"Well, maybe this white one? Hm…no the cleavage goes to low…since it is your first time and all, let's not overdo it! We don't want to give Jagielski a heart-attack. Though I'm guessing he has already seen much more!" She continued with a giggle while Haley blushed profoundly.

"Aaah! Yes!" She squealed excitedly picking up another white tank top with a colorful stamp on the middle. How many did she own anyway?! Haley thought in wonder. Brooke picked up the skirt as well and shoved them in Haley's hands. "C'mon, try them on" She said smiling widely.

Haley looked at the two items with dread. Taking a deep breath she first pulled the top over her head and then straightened it up. The cleavage was okay and it wasn't as short as she thought it would be covering her stomach, though she was sure it would reveal a part of it if she raised her hands. She then put on the skirt which was…

"Oh, no, no! It's too short!" She protested.

"Nonsense! We are going to the beach Tutor-girl! You will take it off anyway!" Brooke replied. "Now, let me look at you" She continued and took a step back admiring her work. "Perfect!" She concluded breaking into a wide grin.

"You think?" Haley said looking down at herself.

"Look for yourself!" Brooke said as she pushed her in front of the mirror.

Haley looked apprehensively at her image. She had to admit she didn't look half-bad.

"Now if you let me do something with your hair and make up, I bet we will have even Lucas and Nathan drooling all over you! Me and Goldilocks will be very jealous let me tell you!"

Haley turned and looked at Brooke feeling really puzzled. She was being really nice to her and it was quite surprising.

"Thank you, Brooke"

"For what?"

"All these…"

"I didn't do anything! You know I sometimes think of becoming a fashion designer and let's say I'm practicing with dressing you up!" Brooke said with a smile.

Haley smiled back and after shaking her head she continued.

"Ok…you can do my hair and make up…but just keep in mind that I don't want to look like a slut, you know like…"

"Me?" Brooke interrupted with a giggle.

"Actually, I was going to say "Rach-ho" but you could do as well!" Haley said in mock seriousness using the name Brooke had earlier used for Rachel.

Brooke laughed heartedly and nodded in agreement as Haley took a seat at Peyton's desk. Brooke went through her make up bag and bending down she started with some eye-liner for her eyes.

"So you and Nathan, huh?" Haley said hesitantly.

"Yeah" Brooke said nodding her head while continuing with her work.

"He's a really nice guy"

"I know" Brooke agreed with a small smile.

"And he really cares for you" Haley continued.

"I care for him too" Brooke replied looking cautiously at her since her words seemed to conceal some kind of warning.

"That's nice. After the whole Rachel thing, I would hate to see him getting mixed up in something like that again"

"I don't get it" Brooke said as she stopped with the makeup.

"Well, Rachel was only using him, I wouldn't want that to happen again" Haley explained.

"To my understanding, Nathan was just using her, too"

"Yeah, but he's not doing that with you"

"Look, I know you don't like me, but I meant it when I said I cared for him, I promise" Brooke said quietly, for some stupid reason she could not come out and deny using him as this was exactly what she was doing.

"Okay" Haley condescended and Brooke returned to applying the eye-liner.

"You know, it was really nice what you did back at the café" Haley said quietly after a while.

"What was nice?" Brooke asked concentrating on not making the line too thick.

"The way you took the blame for yesterday, just so Luke wouldn't fight with Nathan anymore" Haley continued.

Brooke stopped for a second and then letting out a sigh she continued with her work.

"I wasn't being nice. I just told the truth. If it wasn't for me, then Nathan wouldn't have left the car like that"

"It was nobody's fault. Lucas was just being an ass." Haley huffed remembering his ridiculous behavior.

"He must have been worried and upset all night…I can see why he got this way" Brooke said quietly.

"You know, with the history the two of you have, you sure as hell defend each other a lot!" Haley said pulling away from Brooke and looking at her suspiciously.

Brooke froze and desperately tried to hide her panic.

"That was in the past… and I don't think it's even considered much of history since we only met once." She said in a casual tone. "Anyway, we agreed to start over for Peyton's sake"

"Still, from resenting each other that much, you got to being best buddies?" Haley insisted looking at the bathroom door to make sure Peyton wasn't coming out yet.

"We are not best buddies! We're just trying to get along for everybody's sake"

"Yet, somehow, you were able to make him calm down when no one else could"

"Nobody else tried!" Brooke said in a slightly raised voice.

"That's because we know Luke and we know how stubborn he can be."

"Well apparently you were wrong!"

"Am I interrupting something?" Peyton asked as she appeared at the door.

"Oh no, we were just talking about my jerk of a best friend" Haley said before Brooke had time to come up with a lie.

"Oh yes, my jerk of a boyfriend." Peyton agreed with a scowl and then turned serious. "Hales, do you know if something is bothering him? Cause he's not telling me a thing!"

"He hasn't told me anything either" Haley said with a shrug.

"But you do agree with me that something is wrong with him, right? Because Brooke here thinks I'm overreacting"

Haley looked at Brooke in disbelief and turned back to Peyton.

"No, I agree. Something is bugging him. I can't explain today's behavior in any other way."

"It was just a thing between brothers! I don't understand why the two of you are making such a big deal out of it! They have forgotten about it already, why can't you?" Brooke said exasperatedly.

"Brooke, no offense, but you don't know Luke" Haley offered shooting Brooke a dark look. "He doesn't act this way"

"I never said I knew him as well as the two of you do but …"

"But what?"

"I just gave my opinion!"

"You have an opinion about everything, don't you?"

"Hey!" Brooke protested.

"Whoaaa…Hales!" Peyton said shocked.

"Maybe Lucas is not the only one with a problem around here!" Brooke said coldly.

"Ok both of you! Stop it!" Peyton interjected. "First, Nathan and Lucas, and now the two of you? What the hell is wrong with you people?"

"Sorry" Both Brooke and Haley mumbled looking down.

"Good! Now, we said today we're gonna have some fun! So Hales why don't you help me in the kitchen to get something ready to take with us to eat at the beach? And Brooke…" Peyton said and stopped to think.

"I can help with the food too!"

"Nah-uh! No way! We want to prepare something edible!"

"I resent that!"

"Just…urm…try to get ready…it always takes you more time than me"

"Fine!" Brooke huffed not wanting to get into another argument with Haley about Lucas. As soon as Peyton and Haley left the room she collapsed on the bed. Damn him! And for a minute there she thought she was actually making some progress with Haley!

* * *

This was not working exactly like Lucas had wished. When he decided to get out of the café he had hoped to cool off and think things through, he didn't exactly need Nathan coming with him, being a constant reminder of his cause of frustration. How could he think rationally with Nathan next to him looking like he won the damn lottery! If only he knew how things really were he doubted he would look that happy. But he was clueless and though Lucas was angry with him, he couldn't help at the same time but feel sorry for him. Admittedly none of all these was Nathan's fault, but Lucas still felt mad at him, he did got to be with her one way or the other and that's all that counted in the end. Nathan had gotten what Lucas knew very well he would never be able to have, no matter how much he wanted it.

The ride to the garage was made in silence. Nathan had ridden with him, while Jake followed with his own car. They arrived there and immediately started working on Nathan's car, again mostly without talking, both Jake and Nathan sensing his bad mood and probably avoiding to aggravate him further. However, the silence was not working for him. He had so many questions in his head. How? When? Why? And of course there was the question of exactly _how far_ had Nathan gone with his new _girlfriend_ last night that was driving him completely out of his mind. He wanted to ask him so badly, but he was too scared to do it. He really doubted he would be able to handle the answer he was bound to get.

"So… Brooke was really drunk yesterday, huh?" He finally decided to ask casually without looking at his brother, while he was bending down, trying to unscrew the bolts of one of the destroyed tires.

"Urm…yeah, yeah she was" Nathan, who was working on the other tire with Jake's help, replied hesitantly. Sure she was drunk, but she was also upset and that was what made them leave the party. However, he didn't think Brooke would appreciate him telling that to Lucas and Jake.

"So how did it happen anyway, dude? Last I heard she was giving you a really hard time" Jake piped in.

Nathan shrugged. "It just did." He answered vaguely. To be honest he was still a little confused about that himself.

Jake smiled amused. "Well, what can I say, you really did good dude, Brooke's really nice, not to mention extremely hot!"

"Yeah, she really is amazing" Nathan agreed with enthusiasm.

"So it happened at the party?" Jake insisted.

"Yeah…just before I took her home"

Lucas listened intently not uttering a word.

"And you didn't tell me anything…" Jake said shaking his head.

"It had just happened… Besides, it was much more fun watching all of your faces today" Nathan said with a chuckle.

"Yeah…it was quite a surprise. Luke, you didn't know either?" Jake said raising his head to look at Lucas.

"Nah, nobody knew" Nathan answered on his behalf.

"How come you didn't tell Luke when you got home last night?" Jake asked.

"I didn't go at home last night" Nathan replied nonchalantly.

"Oh!" Jake exclaimed in surprise. "So you spend the night at Brooke's?" He asked glancing at Nathan expectantly.

Lucas gripped the screwdriver harder and applied more force to it.

"Yeah…" Nathan replied casually.

"So…" Jake said with a grin "You two actually spent the night together?"

"I said I stayed there, didn't I?" Nathan replied playing dumb.

"Yeah…but I'm asking if you spent the night, _together_?"

"Well, I spent the night at her place, she was there…so yeah, I think it is safe to say that we've spent the night together" Nathan continued deciding to tease his nosy friend.

Lucas had frozen at his spot by now holding the screwdriver in a death grip.

"C'mon, dude!" Jake said exasperated.

"What?" Nathan asked giving him an innocent look.

"Did the two of you hook up last night, or what?"

"Oh Jake, you know me! I'm not the kiss and tell kind of guy" Nathan replied with a smirk.

"So you did!" Jake replied patting him on the back causing Nathan to laugh.

Just like this morning Lucas again felt the room spinning around him. He felt his rage overtake him and it took him everything he had not to launch at his brother right at that second and wipe that smirk off of his face.

"You sure didn't waste your time" He said through gritted teeth, interrupting Nathan and Jake.

"What do you mean? I've been chasing her around for two weeks now! Of course I wouldn't waste any chance I had with her!"

"So you saw that she was drunk enough to have your way with her and you fucked her! Brilliant, Nate!" He hissed.

"What? No! Of course, I didn't! How could you think that?" Nathan protested.

"You said she was drunk, you took her home and next thing we know, the two of you are together!" Lucas said with rage as he stood up to face his brother.

"What the hell, bro?!" Nathan said shocked as he too rose to his feet and looked at Lucas bewildered. "If you must know, she was the one that initiated things!"

"She was drunk! You should have stopped her!" He yelled enraged.

"Not that it's any of your business but I did!"

"What…but you just said that…" Lucas stuttered.

"We didn't have sex Luke! You know how much I care for Brooke! How could you think that I would push her to do something like that when she was drunk?!"

"And yet the two of you are together now…" Lucas snarled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Even if you didn't fuck her, you still took advantage of the fact that she was drunk to push her to be with you!"

"Lucas it's really not of our …" Jake that had also stood up by now tried to intervene.

"Stay out of this, Jake!" Lucas barked turning to him.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Luke?" Nathan asked feeling angry and confused with his brother's inexplicable behavior.

"I just knew you were going to go and do something as stupid as this! You just can't help yourself!"

"Stupid?!"

"Damn it, Nathan! She's Peyton's best friend!"

"So what?" Nathan asked defensively.

"When the two of you break up, did you take a minute to think what that would do to all of us?"

"This doesn't concern any of you! Our relationship is between me and her!"

"You think we won't be affected by it?! When the two of you break up, have you thought of how awkward things are gonna get?"

"You've gotta be kidding! I'm not supposed to be with the girl I want because if we break up we're gonna make things awkward for you? Do you even hear yourself?!"

"Of course, it's not like you actually ever cared for anyone but yourself!"

"What the hell Luke, you knew I wanted her! You never said anything like this before! What came over you just now?!"

"I didn't think you would something so stupid, so…so selfish!"

"Me? I am the selfish one here? You're demanding that I give up on the first girl I really cared for and I am the selfish one?"

"When both of you screw this up…"

"What makes you so sure we're gonna screw this up, anyway?!"

"She's not right for you! She's…she's not really interested in you! She's just playing you!" Lucas yelled resorting to any reasoning he could get his head to.

Nathan stared at him with wide eyes while Jake gulped.

"What the fuck is your problem, man?!" He yelled with fury.

"She's gonna hurt you! She's just like that! She doesn't care about anyone other than herself! She's just using you!"

"Screw you, Luke! If I didn't know any better I would say you are jealous!"

"Jealous? Jealous of what?!"

"Hell if I know!"

"I'm not jealous! I'm just watching out for you!"

"Well, I don't need you watching over me! I can take care of myself just fine! So butt out of my business, man!"

"She's not worth it bro, when she's through with you, you'll know I was right"

"Listen to me, I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you, but I'm gonna let this pass, just this one time. But if I hear you talk about _my_ girlfriend like that one more time, trust me, I'm gonna forget you're my brother!" Nathan said coldly and stormed out of the garage.

"Fuck!" Lucas exclaimed throwing the screwdriver away and kicking the discarded car tire that was lying next to him with all his strength.

Jake stood there completely dumbfounded.

"Ok man, calm down" He tried quietly.

"God! I'm such an idiot!" Lucas yelled mostly to his self.

"Can't argue with that." Jake muttered "What was all that about, Luke?"

"You don't wanna know" Lucas mumbled between his teeth.

Jake shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, you may not like Brooke, but you really shouldn't have talked about her that way."

"You're right, I don't like her. She's manipulative and selfish. Everything is a game to her"

"She hasn't done anything to show that she's using Nathan. True, she is not exactly Miss Innocence but she seems to really care for him. Since she came here she hasn't been with anyone else, just him. Trust me, I used to know Brooke, and for her to do this, she truly does care for him."

Lucas didn't reply and Jake looked at him suspiciously.

"Unless there is something she's done that I don't know of" He continued looking at Lucas in question.

"I can't do this right now" Lucas said shaking his head and got out of the garage as well, with Jake looking at him with his mouth ajar. One thing did come to his mind that could somehow explain this outburst but he had real trouble believing it could be possible.

* * *

Lucas rushed out of the garage and collapsed on the pavement just a block away, burying his head in his hands. He had really screwed this up! He wasn't even that mad at Nathan, really. It was her that he wanted to yell at. She was the one that had all the answers, she was after all the one that initiated things, didn't Nathan say so? But hearing his brother gloating and practically rubbing in his face how he was with her...Once again he found himself out of control. He thought about what he had just said to Nathan… He didn't even know where he should start apologizing from. The fact that he had accused Nathan of taking advantage of Brooke? The fact that he had called him stupid and selfish or the fact that he had practically called his girlfriend a manipulative bitch? He was surprised Nathan hadn't beaten the crap out of him after all these, he certainly thought he deserved it. No, no he didn't. This was all her fault. How could she? No matter how hard he tried he couldn't understand her. I mean she did have feelings for him, right? He couldn't have been just delusional all this time. It wasn't just him; she felt something for him as well. But what had she done when he let her know about his feelings? She went and got together with his brother! His own damn brother! She did it because of him that much was clear. It was so damn ironic that him showing her how he felt had lead her to eventually give in to Nathan after she had been holding back for so long because of him again. He was right when he called her manipulative, she was just using Nathan. She was using him to avoid confronting her feelings for Lucas. So he was really trying to protect Nathan. She would hurt him. Nathan had no idea; what Brooke was doing was just not right.

Bullshit. He was angry with Nathan because he had what he would never get. Nathan had gotten Brooke and Lucas was jealous, more jealous than he thought possible. The image of the two of them kissing was permanently replaying itself in his head. All this time the thought of the two of them together… He was only able to breathe again when he'd learned they hadn't slept together. But the thing was they hadn't slept together _yet_. Just yet. But now they were together, sooner or later, judging from what he knew about both of them it would be sooner, they _would_ sleep together. And he couldn't do anything about it. He had no right, really. After all wasn't he also sleeping with his own girlfriend? Well, not that often lately…actually not at all the last two weeks. How could Brooke be considering doing it with his brother when he couldn't even think about sleeping with Peyton? He kept thinking about her every time he tried and that was why he started avoiding Peyton. Obviously she didn't have the same problem. She could be with Nathan without giving him a second thought. Could she really not be feeling the way he did? Could he be that wrong about her? Was she still playing with all of them?

Well, he had had enough! This was it. He was risking his relationship with his girlfriend; he was fighting with his brother and all that for what? For a girl that didn't seem to care at all about the way he felt. If she had she wouldn't have hurt him like this. Like he said to Nathan she just wasn't worth it! He had to get rid of his feelings for her and fast. And he had to make things right with his girlfriend again before he lost her. But first he had to make things right with his brother.

He should tell everything to Nathan. That was the right thing to do. He couldn't sit back and let her use his brother that way. In the end, Nathan was the one that was going to be hurt. It would be just as much his fault if he stayed silent as it would be hers, since he could have prevented it by telling him the truth. There was the risk that Nathan would tell Peyton, but he could convince him not to, couldn't he? After all Nathan was bound to see how all these was just Brooke's fault, she just played with both of them, fooled both of them. Nathan would believe him, right? Or would he just think that Lucas was trying to break them up because he was jealous? Well, to be honest the idea of having them break up after this was an added bonus, not having to worry about seeing them together and about what they were going to do together. But it was not why he intended to do it. He was just trying to protect his brother. What was so wrong with that?

So he would tell everything to Nathan, he would put all his effort in fixing his relationship with Peyton and he would stay the hell away from Brooke, just like she had asked him. Feeling satisfied with himself for reaching this resolve he got up and returned to the garage to let Jake know that he would go and try to find Nathan to apologize. He just hoped he would be willing to hear him out.

When he got there, he saw that Jake wasn't there anymore. But Nathan was, working again on his car. Lucas cleared his throat loudly causing Nathan to raise his head. He looked at him guiltily and took a deep breath to prepare himself for what seemed to be one of the most dreaded conversations a guy can have.

* * *

_**AN:**__ More than 300 reviews and I'm practically jumping in my seat! Thank you so much to everybody who read and reviewed! Keep it up, please :D_

_Now, I know I had promised Brucas in this one, but it was getting wayyy too long so I had to split it and leave the beach party for the next one. I think the next chapter is going to be interesting, or at least I hope so…_


	20. The Way He Makes You Feel

_**AN:** Hey guys!__I am back! And I am sorry! Very sorry! Hm…I know I've been saying that a lot lately…but this time the delay was extra long…but I was on vacations, so I couldn't really help it. But now I am back, so expect updates again regularly._

_I hope you didn't forget about this fic and you are still interested to see how it will turn out. Anyway, as a form of apology, I've prepared an extra long chapter for you! _

_When I read the reviews for the last chapter I saw how I was able to make almost everybody love Nathan and hate Lucas! LOL This is not about to change soon! I first thought of explaining how I justify Lucas' behavior, but then I've changed my mind. In my head, what he does makes sense…and I understand him, and by this I don't mean that he isn't being a jerk…cause he is, but I can relate to the why. (I'm writing it after all:D) But I think you should judge him for yourselves and it wouldn't be fair for me to try and explain him, so if you think he's a jerk…well…he is:D_

_Brooke probably isn't in the top of your list either…but I think I've described how she thinks in previous chapters, and we will concentrate on her more later, of course!_

_So for this chapter, huge thanks to Denise (lonesome dreamer) who helped very very very much with this! The song in this chapter is The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani, and I have to thank her for it among so many other details she added to make it so much better! _

_And a big thanks to Vicky who as always is practically in my head and encourages my crazy ideas:D_

_So lastly, thank you to every single one of you who reviewed, your comments mean the world to me! They're my drug! LoL_

_I hope you'll enjoy this installment…so…let's get to the chapter and please drop me a line to tell me what you think! _

* * *

_**Chapter 20**_

_**The Way He Makes You Feel**_

"I'm sorry, Nathan" He said quietly. "I really am"

Nathan got up to face him and shook his head with disappointment.

"I don't understand you, Luke. I really don't"

"I know. I shouldn't have said all those things" Lucas said with regret.

"No, you shouldn't have" Nathan agreed sternly.

"I just…I just don't wanna see you get hurt"

"What makes you think I will?" Nathan said again with a raised voice.

"I didn't mean it like that" Lucas said looking at him apologetically again.

Nathan just shook his head again as he crouched down leaning his back at the car. Lucas followed him and sat beside him.

"It's just that you seem to really care for her" He continued cautiously not looking at his brother.

"You know I do, I've told you that already"

"That's why I'm afraid. You really care for her, so she has the power to hurt you"

"But why would she? You seem so hell bent that she will!"

"I just…" Lucas paused and let out a deep sigh "Look Nathan, there are some things that you don't know about Brooke and…"

"No, Lucas, stop. Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it" Nathan interrupted him.

"Let me finish, Nate. There are some things that you should know" Lucas insisted.

"Whatever you think you know about her, I'm not interested" Nathan said firmly.

"But it is really important and…"

"Look, man, I appreciate what you're trying to do, try to look out for me and all, I really do. But I'm telling you nothing you have to say will make me change my mind about her. So just drop it!"

"You don't understand! If you knew…"

"I already told you, I don't wanna hear it, Luke! Whatever you have to say, I just don't care!"

"She's using you Nate!" Lucas interjected repeating his earlier words with fervor. "She's…she's... There's someone else." He finished quietly and paused looking at the ground. Now came the really difficult part.

"I told you to stop Lucas! Whatever Peyton has told you, I don't wanna know! Don't you get it? How many times do I need to repeat it?"

"But Nathan!" Lucas protested looking at his brother confused. This was not the reaction he was expecting. If it was him in Nathan's place, this news would have left him stunned, hurt, shocked, angry? But Nathan didn't seem in the least bit surprised.

"I know there is someone else, Luke! I'm not as stupid as you think!" Nathan yelled with frustration.

Lucas was taken aback by his words and just looked at him in utter shock.

"You…you know? But how?" He stuttered "And… and you don't care? Not even a bit?" He finished in disbelief.

"Of course I do, because I care for her. But I trust her, and as long as she's not with him… wait, she isn't right? Is she with him? Is he her boyfriend?" Nathan asked and Lucas was able to discern the vulnerability in his voice although he did a pretty good job at hiding it.

"No, no! It's not like that, but…" He started saying but Nathan interrupted him again.

"Then I don't give a damn about him. It doesn't matter. He doesn't matter. She's with me now, she chose _me_! She's _my_ girlfriend and that's all that counts."

Lucas flinched, Nathan's words brought all the anger he had felt earlier back to the surface. How could Nathan dismiss him like that?

"How can you be so sure of yourself? Two days ago she wouldn't even let you touch her! Obviously because of him! And now, now, you're so sure she forgot all about him?"

"If you knew what happened yesterday...you'd see why I'm sure that other guy doesn't matter anymore. She's done with him." Nathan replied sternly.

Lucas looked him with wide eyes. _She's done with him?_ "What did she tell you?" He asked with a trembling voice.

Nathan sighed and turning his head to face away from Lucas continued talking quietly. "She didn't say a thing. It's just what happened. I didn't wanna say anything before, because I know Brooke wouldn't like it and also because Jake was here. But I guess I can tell you, since Peyton obviously told you more than I know." Running a hand through his hair he continued hesitantly still debating whether he should say more or not. "I didn't actually tell you how we got together yesterday, but the way it happened, it made me realize a few things. It also confirmed the suspicions I've been having for a while now"

"You've suspected that there was someone else?" Lucas asked choosing not to correct his brother that assumed Peyton had informed him about the other guy, not just yet anyway.

"I told you I've even asked her about it before, but she denied it…But the last two weeks just don't make sense otherwise. Anyway, after yesterday…I have no doubt about it. Yesterday…yesterday it wasn't so much about me and her. It was evident that something happened with him that made her change her mind about me"

Lucas sat there listening intently. He needed to know what had happened yesterday that made Nathan so sure of himself and Brooke. Of course he knew that the longer he let him talk, the more difficult it would be to come clean afterwards, but he just needed to understand what was going on. So in the end, he said nothing and just waited for Nathan to continue.

"I don't really know what happened" Nathan eventually continued "I was outside thinking of what to do about the car, when I saw her coming out of the house. She wasn't looking for me or anything, my guess is she was gonna leave the party without telling me if I hadn't seen her."

Lucas was shocked. So it was pure luck that Brooke had found Nathan out there, she hadn't actually looked for him like he had thought. She hadn't planned any of these! All this was just…an accident? If she hadn't bumped into him at the parking lot, nothing would have happened between them! Cursing his bad luck inwardly, he let Nathan continue.

"You should have seen her, bro." Nathan continued shaking his head "She was a mess. It was clear that she had been crying" He let out another sigh "And here is where things started to get weird. I went to her and asked her what was wrong…and she just… kissed me"

Lucas squeezed his eyes shut to dismiss the image that had invaded his head.

"She just kissed you?" He repeated quietly.

"Yeah…didn't say a word and just kissed me. And not only that, but she started to try and undress me"

"What!" Lucas exclaimed.

Nathan nodded with a chuckle "The girl is wild, man"

"So you mean to tell me that she was gonna go ahead and have sex with you…in…in the parking lot?"

"Uh-hah. If I hadn't stopped her…" Nathan trailed off.

Lucas was just too shocked for words at that point.

"Anyway, that's not the point" Nathan said turning serious again. "The point is that something happened that made her act this way, while for two weeks she has been trying to convince me that taking things slowly was the best thing for her, for us. And that something had nothing to do with me"

Lucas gulped, was now the right time to tell him what that something exactly was? But before he gathered the courage to talk, Nathan went on.

"So I stopped her, and told her that I didn't want to do something with her when she was obviously upset about something else. And I told her I wanted more with her than just sex…"

"What did she say?" Lucas prodded weakly.

"She said she wanted more too, so we agreed to be together, as a couple"

"I see" Lucas nodded half-heartedly. "But how did this make you realize there is someone else in the picture?"

"Isn't it obvious, Luke? What she did yesterday, she did it out of reaction to something else. To someone else" Nathan said the last part grimly.

"But…but then why are you with her?" Lucas stuttered unable to understand his brother's way of thinking.

"Because she wants me to? I don't know what's going on with that other guy. I'm guessing he's someone she left behind at LA, but frankly I couldn't care less"

"How can you say that? Why would you want to be with someone that doesn't feel the same way about you? Someone that is interested in some other guy?"

"I don't think she doesn't want to be with me. You didn't see her last night, bro. Whatever has been going on with that other guy is definitely over."

Lucas felt his heart drop. "But how can you be so sure?" He insisted.

"Look, I don't know what has been going on between the two of them, or for how long, but last night that guy must have really screwed it up. I don't know if they talked on the phone, if she learnt something about him or what the hell happened and it doesn't really matter. What matters is that after that, Brooke was a mess. But then she kissed me, and I'm sure she felt it too, you know? And then when we went to her place and this morning again, she seemed so happy. Whoever that loser is, he doesn't stand a chance. Not anymore and not if I have anything to say about it."

Lucas stayed silent for a while, letting what Nathan had just said sink in. A part of him felt sad, that was the part that actually agreed with Nathan that whatever he and Brooke had was over, not that there was ever something to begin with as she had pointed out the previous night. But there was another part of him that was screaming to him to prove Nathan wrong, that he could prove Nathan wrong!

"You're willing to be her rebound guy?" He tried to object again although with less confidence this time.

Nathan let out a bitter laugh. "See man, maybe it's karma. The first time I am not just using a girl, she's the one using me." He shook his head and continued. "I guess I'm willing to just take the chance she's giving me. Look at it this way. Bottom line, she's not with him for whatever reason. She is with me. So I don't give a shit about him or about whatever was going on between them."

Lucas wasn't expecting the conversation to take this turn for sure. Nathan knew there was another guy in Brooke's life all along and he still wasn't willing to give up. What was he supposed to do? Tell him that other guy was him? Then, there was also his confidence, the way he was so sure that whatever has been going on with the other guy was over and done with. Finally, there was the thing that troubled Lucas the most. Nathan cared so much for her that he was willing to fight for her. So how could he tell him that he had to fight with his own brother? Was he even willing to fight for her? Didn't he already have a great girlfriend he loved and that loved him back? Wasn't the purpose of this discussion to just open Nathan's eyes? Well, his eyes were obviously already open. He knew Brooke was somewhat using him and he still went along with it. What was Lucas supposed to do? What would he accomplish if he told him everything other than Nathan probably hating him?

"Just…just be careful with her, man" He finally said feeling drained. There was no way he could come out and say it. He couldn't do that to him or better yet, he just didn't have the guts to face what would happen afterwards.

"I am. And not just because she might hurt me. Like you said she's Peyton's best friend. I know that. I wouldn't screw it up, Luke. And she…I think she's trying to be honest with me too, you know? She wants to take things slowly, so obviously she doesn't want to rush into something that might turn ugly either. I know she's not telling me everything but really, we are both careful. I just thought I would have your support with this man. She makes me happy, this makes me happy and I thought you would be happy for me"

"She makes you happy?" He repeated his brother's words seeking for confirmation with a voice that was barely audible.

"Yeah... Happier than I've been for a long time"

Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to Nathan with a weak smile.

"Then I'm one hundred percent behind you. Just forget everything I said before"

Nathan smiled relieved.

"All forgotten, thanks bro"

Lucas smiled back. So much for his resolution to tell the truth. But he really couldn't see anything good coming out of it now. Still, he had taken some other decisions as well, and those he was going to stick to, no matter what. He was going to try and fix things with Peyton. It was not too late; they could go back to how things were before Brooke arrived, couldn't they? He would stay away from Brooke, no matter what it took; he would forget whatever mixed up feelings he had about her. From now on, she would only be his brother's girlfriend. He could not do that to his own brother, not when he looked so happy. She was just not worth it, and she'd better not do anything to screw it up either!

* * *

"How come we actually had a job to get done and we still managed to get here before them?" Nathan mumbled annoyed when the three boys arrived at their usual spot at the beach and the girls were still nowhere around.

Lucas and Jake laughed with him and all three of them started spreading their towels and getting undressed to enjoy the warm rays of the sun.

Jake had returned to Keith's garage a little while after the two brothers have finished their conversation and was relieved to find both of them working on the car and again in good terms, like the previous argument had never happened. He still felt confused and wondered about Lucas' motives. The crazy idea he had when he heard their fight just didn't want to leave his head. But he had decided to ignore it. It wasn't his business anyway. He just hoped he was wrong.

"Just enjoy the peace while they'll still not here." He said lying on his towel while stifling a yawn. "I'm sure as soon as they come they would want us to _do_ something…"

"Dude, you're so lazy!" Nathan said with a chuckle "I on the other hand wouldn't mind, _doing_ something with Brooke!"

"Don't you mean you wouldn't mind _doing _Brooke?" Jake asked with a chuckle. A t-shirt that landed on his face was all the reply he got from Nathan.

Lucas lied down with his eyes closed and tried to block out everything around him and just relax. The last two days have been too much for him and he suddenly just felt tired. The others followed his lead, since none of them apparently got enough sleep after Rachel's party and they all submerged into a peaceful silence…

* * *

The girls got out of Peyton's car, picking up their bags and headed towards the beach.

"There they are" Peyton said pointing to the three boys sprawled on their towels.

"They sure arrived fast" Brooke commented.

"Nope…it just took you forever to get ready" Peyton teased her.

"Hey! I tried my best to be fast, and don't forget I also had Tutor-girl to help!"

After Peyton had dragged Haley downstairs to the kitchen and they prepared some sandwiches for all of them, they went back upstairs and it seemed like the fight that had almost broken out between Haley and Brooke was forgotten. It was Haley who surprised Brooke by asking her to finish with her makeup and hair as she had promised and the latter happily obliged. Well, Peyton's nagging in the kitchen must have something to do with the change in Haley, but Brooke didn't feel like complaining. She knew things would be tense between her and Lucas, putting it mildly, and she really didn't want to have to avoid Haley as well. She had decided that she had to put some extra effort into this day to show Peyton that she really wanted to be with Nathan and that she was excited about it. She had to make her forget about her suspicions before she was able to figure out more or before her constant questions made Brooke herself slip and reveal something. So as soon as the girls got ready and got into the car, Brooke went off on an excited ramble about how much fun they would have, and what games they could play, making sure to have a dimpled smile permanently etched on her face which only grew wider every time Nathan was mentioned.

The girls walked to where the boys were laid and stood in front of their respective boyfriends.

"Dude, get away from my sun" Jake mumbled annoyed without opening his eyes

"Ha?" Nathan replied sleepily keeping his eyes closed as well.

"You're blocking my sun…lie down!" Jake insisted and Haley giggled making him finally open his eyes. "Oh, you're here!" He said with a grin and then as he observed his girlfriend better his eyes widened. "Hales?" He said in wonder making Haley slightly blush.

Nathan also sat up after hearing Jake and first eyed his own girlfriend appreciatively. Brooke had a tiny black skirt on and a tight red top with thin straps. He grinned at her but after hearing Jake's shocked tone he turned to look at Haley. "Whoaah!"

Lucas was the last one to sit up and immediately turned to look at Haley purposely avoiding to look at Brooke, though as his eyes briefly caught sight of her form, he had to admit she was absolutely stunning in her skimpy attire that revealed her curvy toned body. But as he didn't look at her, no, he really didn't, he focused on Haley instead and he was left speechless. She did not look like his buddy Haley. No baseball cap, no ponytail, her hair were loose with light curls at her shoulders. No shaggy pants, but a mini skirt that revealed her legs and…did she really have make up on? Well…this was definitely not his Hales.

"We're getting jealous, here!" Brooke exclaimed in mock anger to get Nathan's attention that kept starring at Haley open-mouthed. All three of them were really making Haley quite uncomfortable Brooke noticed as she had lowered her eyes and her cheeks had turned into a bright red color.

"Sorry, sorry baby. But…woaahhh!" Nathan insisted only momentarily diverting his eyes to Brooke.

"Natey…would you appreciate it if Brooke was checking out…urm…let's say Luke, that way?" Peyton piped in as she'd heard Brooke huff in irritation on Nathan's comment.

Brooke's and Lucas' head snapped to her direction in shock, but Peyton was just smiling oblivious to the fact that Brooke had of course checked Lucas out as soon as they had arrived at the beach unable to stop herself, not for luck of trying. His wide chest that she had already noticed through the t-shirts he wore at practice was now revealed bare to her, looking tanned and well-formed just like she had imagined it to be and she had to force herself to look at her own boyfriend that didn't look any less gorgeous himself.

"You look great, Haley!" Jake finally said as he was able to break out of his trance and got up to kiss his girlfriend.

"Thanks" Haley said quietly giving him a shy smile.

"You do look great buddy!" Lucas said smiling at her and slowly rising to his feet as well. "I didn't even know you owned such clothes"

"I don't" Haley said with a shrug "They're Brooke's" She continued sending a grateful smile her way.

"You did this?" Lucas asked turning to Brooke looking at her grateful as well, though it didn't really surprise him. It was more of a surprise that Haley actually went along with it. Maybe she was also getting to know Brooke better and had changed her opinion about her. That thought made him happy. Brooke had taken enough crap from Hales and it was about time she gave her a break. Brooke was looking also quite happy herself. He was sure she liked Haley although she would never admit it and she was hurt by the opinion she had formed for her. Not that he cared about Brooke or what she was feeling.

Brooke shrugged "I thought I could corrupt Tutor-girl, and I thought Jagielski would appreciate it!" She said winking at Jake.

"Brooke!" Haley groaned and the rest of them laughed while Jake mouthed a thank you that earned him a hard smack on the back of his head.

"Now, enough with the gashing over Tutor-girl!"

"Oh you whining baby!" Nathan chuckled as he came behind Brooke and encircled her waist with his arms. "C'mon Luke, let's gash over my girlfriend so she won't get jealous!"

"I'd rather look at my own girlfriend, thanks" Lucas said turning to the two of them with a smirk, his eyes lingering on Brooke's for a second longer, as he took Peyton into his arms and kissed her sweetly.

Nathan chuckled and Brooke had to remind herself that she wasn't supposed to feel jealous towards her boyfriend's brother.

The girls spread their towels next to their boyfriends and as Brooke noticed uneasily she was stuck between Nathan and Lucas since Haley had already laid her towel at Nathan's other side between him and Jake. They started getting undressed while the boys sat back down to enjoy the view.

Lucas once again didn't look at Brooke and just concentrated on _his_ Peyton. Just a glimpse he got of her luscious curves and her full breasts made him swallow hard so once again he concentrated on not looking at her. Yeah…he was doing a damn good job with it so far, he thought sarcastically.

"We are three lucky bastards" Nathan mumbled as the girls got rid of their clothes and stood before them just in their bathing suits.

Lucas nodded in agreement as did Jake, but he couldn't help himself from thinking that Nathan as usual was the lucky one and he was left with just being the bastard.

"You bet your ass, you are!" Brooke smirked as she kneeled on her towel beside him. "You three have the hottest girls at this beach"

"Aren't you lucky yourselves?" Nathan smirked back "You do have the hottest guys in Tree Hill with you" He concluded smugly.

Brooke giggled with a nod and started going through her bag for her tan lotion.

"Why don't we play something?" Peyton suggested.

"Nah-huh! I need to work on my tan" Brooke objected.

"What about you guys?" Peyton insisted looking at the rest of them.

"Sure, I'm up for some beach-volley" Lucas said picking up a ball from one of their bags, just because he had to get away from Brooke as fast as he could.

Jake got up as well and Nathan followed him while Haley seemed to hesitate.

"You're already, four…" She said unsure.

"Exactly, and that's why lazy-ass here is going to join us so we can form our teams!" Peyton said dragging Brooke to her feet.

"But I wanna work on my tan!" Brooke protested with a pout.

"You'll do that later! C'mon!"

"Fine!" Brooke said in surrender "How are the teams gonna be?" She enquired as she joined the others. They all looked at each other in question and a few shrugs all around was all they came up with.

"Well…Luke and Nate will be on one team with one of you" Jake suggested. No one questioned that, if the two brothers were on different teams they would most probably get into one of their competitive strikes and all the fun would be sucked out of the game. They all had to thank Dan for this that had done a great job in fueling the rivalry between the two siblings. Even Brooke was aware of this, since she had often noticed at their basketball practice at school how the two co-captains often got into heated arguments. She guiltily thought that today was certainly not a day they could afford any more fights between them.

"How good are you Brooke?" Jake asked.

"Oh, I can manage" She said smiling mischievously.

"Like you can manage with pool or NBA live?" Nathan asked.

Lucas and Peyton laughed while the two others looked at them curiously.

"Ok….if you can play then Hales, you go with the guys so the teams can be more balanced" Jake proposed.

"Hey!" Haley protested annoyed "I'm not that bad!"

"No offense, but you are that bad, buddy" Lucas chuckled.

Haley seemed furious but Brooke interrupted them. "I'd say we go girls against boys!" And Haley once again found herself smiling gratefully at Brooke.

"What?" Nathan said surprised "Nah…that way it will be no fun!"

"Meaning?" Brooke asked quirking her eyebrow.

"Meaning…it's gonna be wayyy too easy" Lucas supplied while sharing a laugh with the other guys.

"Ha!" Brooke said offended. "We'll see about that Br…brat!" Brooke quickly corrected while her eyes met his panicked ones.

"Brat?" Peyton questioned confused but Brooke just shrugged in response and continued. "Let's go girls! Let's teach these arrogant jerks a lesson!"

"Hell yeah!" Haley exclaimed high-fiving Brooke and Peyton also high-fived them smirking at the boys.

"Just don't start crying when we kick your asses!" Nathan smirked and the guys also bumped fists before taking their places.

* * *

"How did this happen again?" Lucas muttered in disbelief.

"Well…if Nathan had been a little less obsessed with Brooke's rack and had actually paid attention to the ball…!" Jake mumbled.

"Yeah…well, I didn't see much progress when I switched positions with Lucas!"

"Uh…" Jake sighed with a shrug.

"I wasn't looking at her…!" Lucas protested indignantly though no one really had implied that he had. But of course he knew he had. Heck…she had even caught him staring at her!

"Hey bro, I don't mind. I know my girl is hot!" Nathan said smugly teasing him.

"But I wasn't!" Lucas insisted.

"Don't worry, I won't rat you out on Peyt!" Nathan said with a chuckle.

"Urgh!" Lucas groaned and was ready to protest again but the girls approached them with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

"Ok…ok, you won" Nathan condescended "Anymore surprises you've got for us Davis?"

"Just for you, Hotshot!" Brooke said looking at him suggestively and Nathan leaned in to kiss her but she pushed him away playfully. "Nah-uh! We're both too icky for that!"

Nathan let out a frustrated groan and everybody laughed, well at least Lucas thought he was able to pass the sound he made as laughter.

"You are really good, Brooke" Jake said in approval and turning to his own girlfriend complimented her as well "You're getting better yourself Hales"

Haley just snorted in his lousy attempt of a compliment.

"How about we get into the water and wash some of this … yack away from us!" Brooke suggested making a disgusted face as she observed her body covered in sweat.

Though the guys really didn't find anything yack about the girls' glistening bodies, they all nodded in agreement. They shared a meaningful glance before each grabbed a hold of their girlfriend and picking them up rushed to the sea. A few shrieks and squeals later and all the girls were dropped into the water creating a large splash. As soon as they recovered muttering curses and spitting the water they swallowed, they started chasing their boyfriends and all six teenagers started dunking and splashing each other amidst loud laughter and screams.

Lucas watched Brooke as she unsuccessfully tried to dank Nathan who was laughing heartedly. This was the way it was supposed to be, Lucas reminded himself as he caught Peyton and pushed her under the water.

They all got after the water for a while and collapsed exhausted on their towels.

"Finally, time for my tan!" Brooke exclaimed happily.

"Hales…" Jake said in a whiny voice.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you want something really cold to drink now? Like an ice cold soda or something?"

"Yeah that sounds good…aahh…you want me to get them" She said with a scoff.

"Please?" Jake said looking at her pleadingly "I'm sooo tired!"

"You're sooo lazy!" Peyton piped in with a chuckle. "C'mon Hales, let's go together. I think we could all use some cold drinks"

Everybody agreed enthusiastically and Haley followed Peyton after giving a hard pinch to Jake, just because. He just closed his eyes and it seemed like he dozed off immediately.

Brooke started applying the lotion on her legs and arms with Nathan eyeing her hungrily making suggestive comments constantly. Lucas did what he had be purposely doing all afternoon, repeating to himself that this was how it was supposed to be and making an effort not to look their way, because all the convincing he had be doing, did nothing to relieve the pang of jealousy he felt run through him every time he saw them acting all couply…! He took out a book he had brought with him and tried to focus on it all the while wishing that Nathan would eventually shut up and stop offering to help Brooke with her lotion or just do it and get it over with. He wished Peyton got back soon and he wished Brooke didn't look so damn enticing when she applied the milky concoction with sensual strokes on her long tanned legs. Not that he was looking. Of course nothing of all of these seemed to happen when thankfully Tim appeared out of nowhere. Or Lucas just missed him since he was so concentrated on not looking at Brooke.

"Hey you guys!" He said excitedly "Didn't know you would be here so early"

"Hi Dim" Brooke said tiredly not for one minute stopping her work making sure that every bit of her body was evenly covered by the lotion. She didn't need a sunburn.

"How come you're here so early?" Nathan asked.

"Mhmmm" Tim mumbled practically drooling over Brooke.

"Tim!" Nathan yelled to get his attention.

Tim turned to him surprised "Oh-yeah! Me and some other guys from the team are helping setting up the bonfire and stuff. We could use your help"

"Sure!" Nathan said getting up "Is Bill with you? I wanted to speak to him about the next game"

"Yeah, he is over there" Tim said still eyes on Brooke while he pointed to a random direction behind him.

"Dude! Stop staring at my girlfriend!" Nathan said annoyed.

"Your what? Woahh! Wait until the guys find out! They all took bets on when you're gonna nail her!"

"Tim!" Nathan yelled in frustration while Brooke finally looked up at him and just chuckled at his stupid expression. Well, you couldn't really get angry with Dim.

"You're going Natey?" She said with a pout instead "And I was just going to ask you to help me with my back! Who's gonna do that now?"

Nathan looked ready to sit back down…but he just smiled "I'll take a rain check on that…and believe me, I'm not gonna stop at your back…In the mean time, Luke can help you, right Luke?"

Lucas almost dropped the book he was holding but he steadied his hands and just nodded at Nathan who walked away with Tim. Giving a glance to Jake that seemed to be sleeping he turned towards Brooke and spread his hand expectantly. "Well?"

"You don't have to do it" Brooke said quietly.

"I can put some lotion on your back Brooke" He said tiredly.

"I can wait till Peyton comes back, thanks" Brooke said firmly.

"Why do always have to be so stubborn?"

"Because I just am!"

"You know what, I actually feel bad for Nathan for having to put with you 24/7."

"He loves what I am, and you my friend are just jealous. Don't worry; you don't have to put up with my stubbornness any longer. Once my _boyfriend_ and your _girlfriend_ come back, we can go back to ignoring each other. But as of now, you just stick to your book and ignore me, that's if you can" She said with a smirk.

"Fine!" He said with irritation and turned back to his book.

Brooke lowered her head. Both of them missed the confused expression on the now very awake Jake's face.

* * *

It was now early in the night and dancing music could be heard around. The fire was lit and the beach was crowded by teens dancing and mostly drinking of course. The group had spent all day in the beach and everyone was pretty tired by now, still Brooke managed to drag Nathan to dance and Peyton surprisingly didn't have to do much to convince Lucas to join her. He certainly seemed to be in a much better mood, unlike the previous days, although she had caught him looking thoughtful and even sad a handful of times but he quickly recovered each time and joined the rest of them in their games. Jake and Haley were also dancing and all six of them stuck nearby though all couples were mostly absorbed in each other. Everything was going smoothly and Brooke had actually enjoyed herself today. Well, except the times she caught Lucas looking at her with resentment or the times she caught herself looking at him regretfully and even worse the times they actually caught each other both looking at one another longingly.

"So today was good" Peyton said giving a smile to Lucas.

"Yeah, it was" He agreed lying through his teeth but still managing to return her smile.

"Much better than yesterday" She said again remembering the unfortunate end of the previous night's party.

"Yeah" He nodded in agreement again.

"You also seem in a better mood than yesterday or this morning" Peyton insisted deciding to broach the subject of his outburst carefully.

Lucas sighed. "I'm sorry, Peyt. This morning…I just wasn't thinking clearly yet"

"I take it, you've apologized to Nathan?" She asked softly.

"We're good" He replied with a reassuring smile.

"Good, I'm glad. I know you were upset Luke but…" Peyton hesitated remembering that Brooke had advised her not to push him, but she just had to ask "but I got the feeling it was more than the car thing. And lately…you've been in such a bad mood…"

Lucas nodded "I know and I am sorry. I know I've been acting a bit strange lately…I just had a lot in my mind. And I know that I've taken it out on you as well…" Peyton was about to protest but Lucas silenced her gently putting his fingers on her mouth "I know I have" He insisted and after she nodded weakly he continued "But I promise you that is about to change"

"It's not about me, Luke. I'm just worried about you."

"Don't be. I'm fine. There were just a lot of little things that got to me."

"As long as you're okay now" Peyton said with a smile.

"I am" He said with a sigh…_I will get there_…he finished in his head as he took a glance at Nathan and Brooke that were dancing and smiling next to them.

As the song ended and a new one started to play, Nathan suddenly pulled himself away from Brooke and taking her hand walked towards Peyton and Lucas. Before Brooke had time to realize what he was planning to do Nathan had already tapped Lucas on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" He asked cheekily.

Peyton laughed and Lucas just shook his head with amusement as he pulled away from Peyton but as soon as Nathan took her hand Lucas realized what he was expected to do as he came face to face with Brooke that was doing a really bad job at hiding her nervousness. He looked uneasily at her and hesitated.

"Hm…I'll just go and sit this one out" Brooke suggested with a weak smile.

"C'mon Luke!" Peyton urged him "You're not gonna let her go, are you?"

Lucas looked up at Peyton surprised. But he already had…hadn't he? He just nodded and turned to Brooke.

"You won't just leave me standing here, will you?" _You've done that too many times already_…he concluded in his mind while he offered her his hand.

_Whohoe, whihoo_

Brooke swallowed hard and slipped her small hand into his larger one. They both ignored the tingling sensation the other's one touch had once again caused them. He led her a few steps away from the other couple and they both stood awkwardly in front of each other.

_If I could escape_

_I would, but first of all let me say_

_I must apologize for acting, stinking, treating you this way_

_Cause I've been acting like sour milk fell on the floor_

_It's your fault you didn't shut the refridgerator_

_Maybe that's the reason I've been acting so cold_

"They're looking at us" Lucas whispered as he slipped an arm around Brooke's waist. She had put only her skirt on, not bothering with her top and he was now able to feel the soft skin of her lower back under his fingers. Gulping he ordered his fingers to stop shaking and most importantly not to move.

_If I could escape_

_And re-create a place as my own world_

_And I could be your favorite girl_

_Forever, perfectly together_

_Tell me boy, now wouldn't that be sweet?_

Brooke went rigid as she felt his touch burning at her skin but she glanced behind her shoulder and saw that both Nathan and Peyton and also Jake and Haley were indeed looking at them. Heaving a sigh she took a step closer to him and left her arms rest on his own bare shoulders. She then started moving to the rhythm. Lucas slipped his other arm to her waist bringing them a tad closer and felt her get even stiffer, but then she continued moving and he started moving as well.

_If I could be sweet_

_I know I've been a real bad girl_

_I didn't mean for you to get hurt_

_Forever, we can make it better_

_Tell me boy, Now wouldn't that be sweet?_

_Sweet escape_

_I wanna get away, to our sweet escape_

"God, I really thought the two of them were started to get along" Peyton said with frustration.

"Yeah…" Nathan agreed looking at the couple that tried to dance obviously too awkward around each other. Brooke had her eyes fixated on the ground while Lucas was practically staring at the sky both avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"Well, now that she's your girlfriend you'll help me work on them" Peyton insisted.

"I'm not sure what Lucas thinks of her" Nathan said seriously. "Sometimes he's really on her side, other times…urgh! I never thought Lucas could be so bipolar!"

"Well, Brooke can be quite confusing as well. I think she likes him and I thought they were friends. But look at them now, this is too funny!" She then turned to the awkward couple "C'mon you two! I know you can do better!"

Brooke sighed with frustration.

"What does she want me to do? I am dancing aren't I?" She asked looking at Lucas for the first time.

"Maybe she wants you to start rubbing on me like you were doing with Nathan a while ago." He replied harshly.

"Well, that's not gonna happen anytime soon" She bit back.

"It'd better not"

"You couldn't handle it anyway" She snapped.

"Try me" He challenged her but Brooke didn't reply only kept staring at him and so he continued "Or maybe you can't handle it"

"I can handle everything you can give Scott"

"Yeah…I saw how well you handled it yesterday" He said bitterly.

"Just…shut up and dance"

"You're the one that started talking!"

"They're looking at us again" Brooke hissed.

"Good thing they can't hear us" He said and with an abrupt movement brought her closer to him. Brooke looked at him clearly not pleased. "If you wanna seem normal, then we should be able to dance at a distance less than a mile away from each other!" He explained warily.

"Fine by me!" She responded and moved her hands behind his neck bringing her body closer to his. Bad move she thought as she heard his sharp intake of breath. Both of them turned their heads away from each other again facing opposite directions while trying to ignore their increasing heartbeats.

"Urm…Hales?" Jake called his distracted girlfriend that had her eyes glued on the couple dancing a little to their right.

"Yeah?"

"Urm…has Lucas… did you notice something weird about them?" He finally asked pointing with his head to their direction.

Haley looked a bit surprised. So maybe it wasn't all in her head after all.

"I…I don't know. Don't you think they're acting a bit strange?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah…I mean…well Luke has been acting strange for sure"

"I know…and I thought they were friends or something till recently but now they seem cold again"

"Luke wasn't actually happy about her and Nathan. I don't think he really likes her"

"Are you serious? He's always trying to get me to be nice to her. Always saying that I'm judging her unfairly and that she's really nice"

"You should have heard what he said today to Nate"

"That is strange" Haley said skeptically.

"Hales…do you…do you think…I don't know" Jake sighed unsure of himself.

"Jake? What are you thinking?"

"I really don't know. But I think there's something going on that we don't know"

"Like what?" Haley asked feeling guilty for hiding from him what she already knew about Brooke and Lucas' meeting last year.

"I can't be sure"

"C'mon!"

"How are things between Luke and Peyton?" He asked out of the blue.

"What? Things are good, I guess. Why are you asking me this?"

"I just…ok I know this may sound crazy but I think Lucas has a thing for her"

"For Brooke?" Haley asked bewildered.

"Yeah…"

"Nooo! You must be wrong! How did you come up with that? That's crazy!"

"I know! But it's just some things he said…and the way he acts around her and…"

Haley just looked at him speechless. She had thought the same but had dismissed it immediately, but now hearing Jake, her fears were being confirmed …

"You're probably right. It's too crazy" Jake dismissed it with a shrug but Haley just turned her head and kept staring at the couple.

* * *

After the song ended both Brooke and Lucas hurriedly headed to opposite directions trying to get as far away from each other as possible and hopefully away from their boyfriend and girlfriend respectively at least until their hearts could resume a normal rhythm and the sweating stopped. A while later all three couples were sitting around a small fire, one of many that were burning across the crowded beach.

"So tonight was fun" Peyton said while she was sitting next to Lucas her head leaning on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her.

"Too bad the summer's is over. I'm gonna miss the beach" Brooke said from her place between Nathan's legs with her back against his chest.

"You like the beach, baby?" Nathan asked while playing with Brooke's fingers as they kept their hands intertwined in front of her.

"Yeah…back in Cali, our house was just beside the ocean and I used to sit at the beach in the nights…"

"Doing what?" Jake asked as he hugged a shivering Halley tighter.

"Nothing…just…I don't know, looking at the ocean…I liked that it was so quiet and peaceful"

"It's anything but quiet right now" Haley said dismally pointing to the other loud occupants of the beach creating havoc around them.

Brooke giggled and agreed with a nod.

"You see that house over there?" Nathan said pointing to a building spread over the beach at their left. And as Brooke turned and nodded as she made out the house he continued "That is our beach house, our dad's beach house"

"Oh! I didn't know you had one" Brooke replied looking at the building more carefully.

"Yeah…that's the place where the notorious parties of Nathan Scott are held" Peyton affirmed. "Even in the middle of the winter" She continued.

"Really?"

"Yeap…so you won't have to miss the beach, whenever you want, we can go there"

"And throw a party?" Haley asked teasingly.

Nathan shrugged "I didn't have exactly that in mind…"

"Perv!" Peyton yelled laughing.

"Neither that!" Nathan said indignantly but everyone besides Lucas just laughed in response.

"It looks nice" Brooke said after their laughter subsided.

"It has a very nice view" Lucas spoke for the first time in the conversation and Brooke turned to look at him curiously. "Its wooden porch overlooks the ocean, you'd like it" He concluded turning to her.

"It also seems big, must have a lot of rooms" Brooke observed after offering him a small smile. It was the first time he had talked to her after their dance and she was glad to see things seemed to be normal between them…well at least he wasn't insulting her.

"You should see the bedroom. It has a big bed" Nathan said mischievously.

Haley groaned.

"I bet you know exactly how big… after so many times you must have tried it" Brooke said playfully winking at Peyton that was trying really hard not to laugh with Nathan's embarrassed expression.

Nathan opened his mouth to respond but he didn't know how. So he just gulped turning slightly red and turned to Peyton.

"Thanks a lot!" He said sarcastically and both Peyton and Brooke erupted into laughter.

"Don't worry, Natey…such a big bed…a shame to let it go to waste" Brooke said teasingly.

"Well…if you think that way…" Nathan trailed off "maybe we can use it sometime…but for now…." He stopped again and started giving light kisses at Brooke's shoulder and neck causing her to giggle.

Lucas gritted his teeth…for all the times he had reminded himself that day that this was the way it was supposed to be he was doing a really poor job in convincing himself. Could they at least refrain from kissing in front of him? He heard Brooke make a sound like she was weakly protesting but he saw his brother turning her around and silencing her protests with his lips. He also heard Jake teasingly say something about PDA and get a room or something but he really wasn't listening. He didn't know at that moment what took over him but it was like a reflex reaction. I mean…if that was actually the way it was supposed to be…

Lucas pulled Peyton closer and started kissing her too…causing Haley and Jake too release some more gagging noises and talk about contagious PDA.

Brooke didn't want to be kissing Nathan in front of Lucas. The day had gone by without them engaging into serious making out though Nathan had tried to initiate it at a couple of occasions. But now he seemed more insistent and they were sitting at a more secluded spot just the six of them, and Peyton, bless her, Brooke thought sarcastically had made sure to inform Nathan how Brooke never was a shy one at that aspect…so she thought turning him down again would be more than a little suspicious. But that tidbit about contagious PDA made her pull away and take a glance at Lucas and Peyton. They were kissing and enjoying it…too much. Nathan was laughing and saying something with Jake…she wasn't paying attention. She was looking at them.

Lucas and Peyton broke apart and his eyes momentarily locked with hers…before she abruptly turned her back while straddling Nathan and crushing her mouth forcefully on his…who was all too happy too oblige again.

Lucas was gaping while Jake was making whistling noises. He didn't have to think a lot, he once again turned to Peyton and engaged into another steaming kiss.

Jake and Haley were a bit confused. But Jake ….saying a what the hell…decided they shouldn't feel left out…so he too started kissing his girlfriend, albeit more sweetly and less than the other two couples that their making out was becoming more passionate by the minute.

Brooke opened her eyes as Nathan was now nibbling at her neck and looked at Lucas that was still kissing Peyton with his hands entangled in her hair. Like he felt it he opened his eyes and looked at her coldly…She turned her head back and took Nathan's lips again. Lucas followed suit with Peyton's squeezing his eyes shut but that didn't help him with erasing the image of Brooke and his brother. Stealing another glance he saw his brother's hands roam at her back and move to her thighs. So he just shut his eyes again moving his hands beneath his girlfriend's top. Brooke opened her eyes again to see what he was doing…this make out contest was going too far…way too far. So taking a deep breath she pulled away from a disappointed Nathan.

"Easy cowboy…" she said teasingly trying to sound casual.

"Yeah babe…totally my fault!" He said with a mocking grin pointing at the way she was straddling him. "Whoa…we are contagious!" He observed looking at the two other couples that hadn't broken apart yet.

Lucas was of course listening to their every word though he didn't stop kissing Peyton yet.

Brooke nodded with a forced smile.

"I…I promised to find Bev before we left"

"Now?" Nathan whined.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry" She said with a smile.

"And you'll leave me alone with them?" He asked pointing to the two couples disgusted.

Brooke forced another smile avoiding looking at them an instant longer. "Go find Dim, I think he's been feeling neglected tonight" She giggled and Nathan scowled as she briskly made her way away from them. As soon as she was far enough she broke into a run…

Nathan was just about to get up when Lucas broke away from Peyton and gave her a smile.

"Bout time…" Nathan mumbled.

"Where's Brooke?" Peyton asked immediately with a sheepish grin.

Their conversation seemed to interrupt the third couple that though had started last had engaged into the making out with the same enthusiasm as the other two.

"She had to find Bev" Nathan supplied with a shrug. "I thought I would also find Dim before we left…urm Tim I mean"

Jake chuckled at Nathan's slip up.

"I told Mouth I would talk to him also" Lucas said hastily as he quickly stood up.

The other three decided to stay put and the two boys headed to find Tim and supposedly Mouth, respectively.

As soon as Nathan found Tim, Lucas trailed away scanning the beach. "Where the hell did you go now?" He asked himself as his eyes fell on their beach house. Without any hesitation he immediately headed that way in a hurry.

* * *

He found her leaning on the balcony rail with her back turned to him facing the calm ocean. He stood there behind her just watching her for a minute thinking of why despite his earlier decision to stay the hell away from her and after the way she made him feel when he was watching her almost jumping his brother he had yet again followed her out there.

"Are you just gonna stand there and watch or did you actually come here to talk to me?" Brooke said in a quiet whisper not turning to face him. She had heard footsteps a while ago and she didn't need to turn to see who it was. She could sense his eyes burning on her back and she was definite no other could make her feel that way just by looking at her.

Lucas sighed heavily and walked next to her. Leaning on the rail as well he let his eyes wonder at the ocean.

"I don't know what to say"

"Then why did you come here?" She asked still not turning to face him.

"I don't have an answer for that either"

"It does have a nice view" Brooke whispered after a while breaking the silence.

"I always come here even when there's no party. It's really quiet here. Just a nice place to think." Lucas commented quietly.

"How did you know I would be here?" Brooke asked timidly.

Lucas shrugged "I just did"

Brooke didn't say anything more and they both stayed there for a few minutes, both taking comfort in the other one's presence.

"Why did you do it, Brooke?" Lucas whispered finally.

"Please, Luke, let's just not go there"

"I can't do that. It's been all I've been thinking about since this morning"

"I'm sorry" Brooke whispered turning to look at him. He was still looking away and he just seemed so tired to her.

He didn't acknowledge her apology not that she was waiting for him to do it. She didn't even know why she was apologizing.

"You know, just this morning I've decided I would do you the favor. After I'd learned about you and Nathan, I decided I would do it, I would stay the hell away from you" He said as he finally turned to look at her coldly.

Brooke blinked back her tears and waited.

"But here I am after you. I'm just wondering where you will run to this time, how far you'd go just to keep clear of me" He continued letting out a harsh laugh.

"I had to do it, Luke, you know I did" She replied with a low voice averting her eyes.

"No I don't! I know you did it because of what almost happened yesterday. But at the same time I can't even begin to understand why! Why after what I told you, you would go and do something like that?"

"But you do know why. I told you yesterday I wouldn't let what almost happened there happen again"

"So this was the only solution you could find?" He asked bitterly.

"It was not just that, Lucas. Nathan and I would have happened eventually, that only sped up things"

"Bullshit!"

"Lucas!"

"Bullshit! When I found out this morning, after my fight with Nathan at the garage…"

"You fought with him again?" She asked looking at him incredulously.

"He didn't tell you?" Lucas wondered in surprise.

"No. Why did you fight again?"

"Do you really have to ask?"

"You told him about the car again…?" She muttered feeling guilty once again; it was the feeling that had stuck permanently within her since she had arrived at Tree Hill.

"Nah…this time I wasn't even able to find an excuse" Lucas said with a rueful smile.

"Wh-what do you mean?" She stuttered.

"I told him the truth. I told him what I thought about the two of you getting together" He stated simply.

Brooke looked at him wide-eyed.

"Don't look at me that way. I just told him what was true!"

"Which is?" She hissed.

"That you're just using him"

"What? How dare you tell him something like that? I care for Nathan! I really do! You have no idea how I feel, so stop making assumptions!"

"You told me you got together with him because of me! Now you're telling me that it's not? So which is it, Brooke? Why can't you make up your mind?"

"You're taking everything the wrong way!"

"Then tell me which the fucking right way is! Damn it, Brooke! Do you want to drive me insane? Because you're doing a pretty fine job with it so far!"

"And you think I'm not going crazy here?"

"I know you are! But you keep denying it! Acting like none of these matters to you! Like I don't matter to you!"

"I never said that" Brooke mumbled.

"Yes you did! But then you come here and cry, how can I make you cry when you don't give a shit for me?"

"I came here to think"

"You came here because you couldn't stand seeing me with her and before you deny it, I know that it is true! I know because I couldn't take another minute watching you with him either!"

"It's not like that!"

"God Brooke! I'm so sick of this!" He yelled in frustration

"Then leave! Go! Leave me alone!" She yelled back at him.

"Don't you think I want to? I've tried so hard to do it. To stop thinking about you, to stop missing you, to just... stop. But I can't. I just…I can't" He let out a resigned sigh shaking his head.

"I don't know what I can say…"

"The hell you don't! How do you feel about me Brooke? What am I to you? What the fuck are we doing to each other?"

"You are Peyton's boyfriend! You are my boyfriend's brother!"

"Screw that! I asked you what I am to you? Not them! You!"

"That's what you are to me!"

"Then why would you have let me kiss you yesterday Brooke?"

"I wouldn't have done such erroneous thing!" She denied.

"Yes you would! If only that jackass hadn't interrupted us…"

"Okay! Okay!" she yelled frustrated and taking a deep breath turned to him and resumed calmly "You want me to admit it? Fine! I find you attractive Lucas. I think you're hot. There you have it! If the circumstances were different I would definitely see myself screwing you!"

Lucas just stared at her in disbelief. "What the fuck are you saying?" He asked his voice trembling with rage.

"What didn't you understand exactly?"

"You're saying this whole thing between us is just about… sex?"

"Yes Lucas. Okay? I tried to avoid it, deny it, but since you insist I'll give. There is some serious sexual tension between us. Okay?"

"Sexual tension? Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Lucas replied with a sarcastic laugh.

"Think about it! You're hot, I'm hot, and we're young! I mean even if you love your girlfriend I understand how sometimes the temptation can become too strong"

"Do you really believe that's all I want from you?" He asked more calmly this time.

"Yeah...It's not that I think badly of you, I mean I can completely understand how…"

"I would never jeopardize my relationship with Peyton just to get laid, Brooke!"

"I totally agree with you! That's why I tried to fight it!"

"But it's not just that! I know, and you know it's not!"

"Maybe at times you think it's not. But if you really think clearly about it, we hardly know each other so it couldn't possibly be any real feelings involved. And then the fact that we both know that we can't have each other, it just magnifies the tension. You know the desire for the forbidden, how what you can't have always seems so much more enticing?"

"Do you even hear yourself?"

"I have given a lot of thought on this"

"And you seriously want me to believe that this is what you came up with?" He said in exasperation.

"If you think about it for a while you'll see my point"

"So you and I…just sex?"

"Yes"

"While you and Nathan are the real thing?"

"Just like you and Peyton"

"So you're in love with him?"

"I don't have to answer to that. And even if I'm not, there are real feelings there and not just some pent up horniness"

"Un-fucking-believable!" He scoffed but then continued, "Okay, so you say it's just sex that we are just all about sex. Fine! If that's the case, then why don't we just do it? Right here, right now! We are already here in our secluded beach house, all alone. We can have sex and nobody ever has to know! Let's get this over with, so we can go back to our respective other and finally end this "sexual tension" as you say going on between us" He said suggestively making sure to stress when he said sexual tension by making air quotation marks. He wasn't serious though, he was simply trying to prove a point, that they were so much more than just potential fuck buddies.

She immediately froze in her spot. She was able to mutter a 'but' or was it a 'what?' Lucas couldn't make out what she was trying to say, especially when she had her foot in her mouth. She made a mental note to herself to make sure next time to anticipate whatever rebuttals he could possibly use to counter her arguments. She sees him shake his head and laugh, probably because of her.

"I don't buy it Brooke. Not for one second"

"That's your problem"

"You are unbelievable! You walk into my life, you turn everything upside down, you make me question everything I know and now it is just my problem?"

"I…I didn't do anything to cause all that! I didn't want to do all that!"

"But you did! God…I'm ignoring my girlfriend…I'm fighting with my best friend, I can't stand to look at my own brother and it's all because of you! All I do is think about you! And what do you do? You come here and say this is all because I wanna fuck you? Jesus!"

"But…"

"Do you have any idea how I feel when I'm around you, do you?"

"I don't wanna know!" Brooke yelled in frustration.

"It's so much more than what you're saying between us. I don't know what…I don't know why…but…the way you make me feel is just…like…like no one has ever made me feel before"

"You only think that! It's not true!"

Lucas was once again ready to protest but she cut him off.

"And even if it is? It doesn't matter. Cause I just don't feel anything! Okay? So back off!"

He seemed hurt and was ready to turn around when he looked at her eyes for one last time and what he saw made him change his mind.

"If that's what you want Brooke, if he is what you really want, I will back off." He paused for a second and then continued sounding more determined "But I need you to tell me"

"Tell you what?" She asked impatiently.

"Tell me he is the real thing. Tell me he makes you feel like no one else has ever done before"

"He does" Brooke replied firmly as she watched him coming closer to her feeling a repeat of the previous night approaching but somehow willing herself to prove to him once and for all that he had gotten the wrong idea. Running away would only prove him right. So she had to stay there and prove to him that she wanted Nathan and not him, never him.

"Tell me that when he's next to you there's like nothing else matters" Lucas said calmly standing in front of her.

"Yes…" She agreed quietly focusing solely on him.

"That when he looks at you" He said with a pause fixing his eyes on hers "you feel your heart racing"

"It is racing" Brooke whispered, and it really was.

"And you feel like you are drowning in his eyes…" Lucas continued.

"I am" She said breathlessly entranced by his intense gaze.

"And just hearing his voice makes you shiver…" He whispered hoarsely as he leaned close to her ear…

"It does" Brooke agreed again as she felt every hair on her neck stand up.

"And when he touches you…" He said running his hand slowly over her bare arm "You feel like your skin is on fire"

"Yes…" Brooke chocked out closing her eyes momentarily.

"And when he kisses you…" Lucas continued almost chocking himself now as his hand had moved from her arm and was now gently caressing her cheek.

Brooke's breath hitched in her throat and she unconsciously licked her bottom lip.

"Tell me Brooke, tell me when he kisses you…" Lucas resumed with a shaky breath as his hand made his way to the back of her head "Does it feel like…like this?"

Brooke held her breath as she saw him leaning even closer to her and her eyes fluttered shut but she made no attempt to escape him. She felt his lips crush on hers and her hands grabbed his t-shirt tightly. She was supposed to push him away using her hands but all she had managed to do was clung on him so that her knees wouldn't give out. All thoughts left her head and it was like a sheer bolt of electricity was going through her body. Lucas was waiting to be pushed away too but was surprised to see that Brooke immediately responded to the kiss without a second of hesitation. A kiss never had felted like that before; he could actually feel his blood pulsating through his veins. He stumbled forward leading her to the wall and as soon as they've reached it he pushed her further against it with his body. He tugged on her bottom lip seeking entrance. Brooke parted her lips and when she felt his tongue enter her mouth she let out a small moan. Upon hearing her, he almost collapsed on her and had to steady himself with his hand on the wall. His other arm was tangled in her soft locks. Brooke's hands also found their way at the back of his neck and got tangled up in his hair as she pulled his head further down. His hand left the wall and found his way at the small of her back pulling her body closer, wanting the distance between them to disappear. Her tongue was now battling with his, both trying to taste all of each other as the kiss got more frenzy by the second. They were both in the need for air but neither considered breaking the kiss.

When he couldn't take it any longer he abruptly pulled away and took a step back. Brooke just fell back against the wall in an attempt to steady herself as she slowly opened her eyes. Both were panting and letting out shaky breaths as they tried to compose their selves. He fixed his eyes on hers looking at her expectantly waiting for her to say something. She just stood there looking at him in wonder.

"And now, you can go back there and pretend that he can make you feel an ounce of what you just did" He finally said in a cold tone shaking his head in disappointment and quickly turned his back at her and walked away.

Brooke let herself slide against the wall to the cold wooden floor of the balcony and just stayed there staring at the dark ocean in front of her, thinking…

_What if I can't?_

Brooke Davis was a very good actress, but she doubted even she could keep pretending now.


	21. The Ice Queen

_**AN:**__Hey, guys! You thought I would never update, right? So once again…I'm so so sorry! I was seriously stuck…and I needed more time. I know this sucks for you, but I really can't put something out here if I'm not satisfied about it. Though I'm never completely satisfied, at least I wanna believe I did my best. I try hard with this story and I'm sorry if this means that sometimes my updates may take longer. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from and be patient with me! I will try my best not to let this happen again. Also, be sure that I do not intend on giving up on this story. I've invested too much time for it to let it go. And I still have fun writing it, though it gives me a hard time…sometimes! So I plan to see it through…and I hope you'll stick with me till the end!_

_Thanks to everybody that reviewed! Your comments were amazing as usual! I thought you would enjoy the last chapter! Hehehe! I was waiting for so long to write that last scene…and it was in my head since the beginning! LoL I'm glad you thought it was good…because with all the waiting you had to endure for it to happen, I was really nervous! So again, thanks!_

_For__ this chapter…I just wanna see what you'll think! I'm prepared for all the Brooke-'loving' I'm gonna get…but I thought Lucas had enough for now…it is her turn!_

_The biggest thanks to Denise!__ Without her, let's say you wouldn't be getting an update for a long long time! And her ideas, simply rocked! _

_So, enjoy and please review!_

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_**Chapter **__**21**_

_**The Ice Queen**_

She had no idea how long she had stayed sitting on that porch just staring between the dark sky and the even darker ocean. Not that she was actually seeing anything except from his face as he looked the moment he broke their kiss. That kiss…his taste still lingered in her mouth, his scent still surrounded her like it did when she was engulfed in his arms. Once again since she had first met him, Brooke questioned how could he make her feel like…this, and then immediately, damned him once again for being the one that could. She couldn't quite say how she felt when he kissed her but she knew that right now she wasn't exactly feeling like she expected to be. She knew that she was supposed to be feeling guilty but she wasn't. She knew that she was supposed to be feeling sad but she was actually feeling excited. See, Brooke never really believed in love, she had never actually experienced love, and she didn't have a clue of what that feeling was supposed to feel like. But for the life of her she couldn't come up with any other way of describing how that kiss made her feel.

When she had been kissing one of her numerous boy toys (and they were numerous!), Brooke felt lust and satisfaction. When Nathan kissed her, she was feeling content and excited. But a few minutes ago…when he was kissing her, she felt complete and alive. She couldn't be sure if this was love or not, if she was in love or not. How could she be feeling something that she didn't even believe existed? However, the realization that she might have been wrong in dismissing love as a fairytale had made her feel excited. The realization that she might actually be having this feeling had actually made her happy! And then she had that impulse that brought her back to reality. She was feeling excited and confused and she needed to share that with someone. So the first thing that came to her mind was that she had to call her best friend right away! Her only true friend, who other than Peyton and ask her if what she was feeling was what she thought it was. Peyton would know…Peyton would be able to help her understand. She had actually pulled the cell out from her purse before it hit her. She couldn't.

After that, she had stayed some more time there sitting in numbness trying to make sense of the emotions that were coursing through her body and were so contradicting with the thoughts that were running through her head. Her mind had drifted back to this summer…

"_Hey, Brooke" a tall well-built dark haired guy greeted her with a shy smile as he entered her kitchen, where Brooke was nursing a cup of coffee to get rid of yet another hangover._

"_Morning, Marc" Brooke replied with a smile of her own "Wanna a cup?" She asked cheerily as she stood up and refilled her own mug._

"_Nah, I'm okay. Thanks" He replied as he took a sit on one of the stools around the kitchen isle._

_Brooke retrieved her position and looked at him curiously. He seemed awfully quiet._

"_So…what's up?" She asked nonchalantly._

"_Well…" He began hesitantly "Don't you think we should talk?"_

"_About?" Brooke asked looking genuinely confused._

"_Last night?" He said in question looking at her eyes._

"_What about last night?" She asked again indifferently._

"_Well…" Marc mumbled lowering his eyes and playing with his hands "Shouldn't we talk about what it meant?" He concluded timidly bringing his eyes back on hers._

"_What do you think it meant?" She asked raising her eyebrow in question._

"_I…You know…I mean…" _

"_Look Marc" Brooke interrupted his nervous mumbling deciding that the sooner she set things straight the better "Last night we had good time. A really good time."_

"_I agree" He said with a smile._

"_Yeah…but there is no need for what happened to make things awkward between us" She continued giving him a warm smile._

"_You think this is awkward?" He asked seeming completely baffled._

"_This whole 'morning after' discussion? It's just unnecessary"_

"_What do you mean unnecessary?" He said sounding even more confused._

"_I mean, we have nothing to talk about. Last night we had fun and now things are back to normal"_

"_What?" He yelled in shock._

"_I mean we are friends, right? I don't see why what happened yesterday should change that" She said with a shrug and another smile. What did he expect anyway?_

"_But…but you know that I don't see you like just a friend. I like you, Brooke. I like you a lot" He said sincerely._

"_I like you too, that's why we are friends" Brooke replied with a smile._

"_But…"_

"_Marc…" Brooke said tiredly. Couldn't he get the hint already?_

"_We slept together, Brooke! How can you act like nothing happened?! We made love yesterday!"_

"_Oh grow up, Marc! We had sex! We got a little drunk and just had sex!" She said deciding that a subtle approach wouldn't cut it._

"_What?!" He yelled again as his face got red from anger._

_Brooke just shrugged._

"_But…I thought, I mean, you said that you wanted me!"_

"_And I did, of course I did…for last night" She explained calmly._

"_You bitch!"_

"_Excuse me?" Now, what gave him the right to call her that?_

"_You heard me. I said you're a bitch and a whore!"_

"_You've known me for the last couple of years. You know how I work when it comes to these kinds of things. It's your fault that you expected more, things that I couldn't nor would ever want to give you."_

"_How could you?!"_

"_If I remember correctly I didn't actually force myself upon you" She said sarcastically._

"_But you knew how I felt about you! You had known all along!"_

"_I thought you were over that" Brooke said with a dismissive shrug._

"_I was beginning to get over it, Sherry was helping me! I was starting to consider doing something with her. But you…you made me believe that there was a chance between us!"_

"_Puh-lease! I just fucked you, Marc. I was lonely, you were lonely…we had sex…what's your problem? You're acting like some kind of virgin! For God's sake, stop being such a baby about it!" _

"_You heartless bitch!"_

_Brooke raised an eyebrow again but didn't reply._

"_You don't care about anyone but yourself! Do you ever stop to think what your actions do to other people?! Did you ever give a damn about anyone other than yourself?!"_

"_I really don't see what's so wrong with what I did"_

"_What's wrong? You made me believe that you cared about me!"_

"_I do! You are my friend!"_

"_You used me Brooke! You used my feelings for you just because you were lonely!"_

"_I never promised you anything Marc! If you got my intentions wrong…it's not my fault" _

"_Not your fault…of course. Did you even think about Sherry in all of this?"_

"_What about Sherry?" She asked with annoyance._

"_You are one of a kind…and you claim that you care for us…unbelievable!"_

"_Would you just shut up?!" _

"_You only think about yourself! You're incapable of feeling anything! No wonder you're alone! No wonder your mother left you!"_

_In one swift movement, the palm of her hand collided with his handsome face._

"_Get out!" Brooke yelled finally losing her cold exterior._

"_I will…I have nothing more to say to you. Have a nice life, Brooke. You know…I'm actually glad this happened, this way I can completely forget about you…you had me fooled Brooke…but you are what everyone said you were all along…just a cold-hearted spoiled little girl."_

"_Get out!" She yelled again and watched him close the door behind him before she allowed any tears to stain her face. _

Well…maybe she could call Marc. You know…tell him how wrong he had been…that she could actually feel something, feel love…How ironic though…even now that she thought she was actually feeling love for someone, she still managed to be using someone else and hurt her best friend in the process. Maybe she didn't prove him wrong after all.

She realized she had to get up and go back. All she could do really was to follow his cold suggestion. She had to go back to her friends and her boyfriend and pretend. Getting up, she straightened up her skirt and wondered where she should go to retouch her makeup from the mascara stains she assumed she had. Pulling out her compact mirror from her purse she looked at her face in awe. She hadn't shed a single tear.

She managed to stumble her way back to the beach where the others were waiting for her still pretty much in a daze. He of course was there. Arm draped casually over Peyton's shoulder chatting casually as it seemed with Jake. Nathan was talking with Haley. As soon as they saw her, Nathan and Peyton bombarded her with questions about her really long absence. Apparently she had stayed at that porch longer than she thought. She didn't even think about what nonsense she blurted out as an excuse but she didn't feel the least bit sad while doing it. She was too overwhelmed with other emotions to dwell on her guilty conscience at that time. She tried to steal a glance at him but he didn't even acknowledge her return. As Peyton rushed to whine at her for going MIA, he occupied himself with gathering their things they had still scattered around so they could finally go home.

Brooke couldn't help but wonder whether that kiss had the same effect on him. It was then when her insecurities started to kick in. It couldn't. If it had he wouldn't have fled as soon as it was over, especially using those harsh words. But they weren't that harsh were they? He just spoke the truth. And he called her upon her denial of the feelings they had for each other. So he did say that kiss meant something to him. And it was something else as well. That kiss wouldn't have made her feel that way if he hadn't meant it. She didn't know why but she was sure about that. She also thought about what he must be thinking because she failed to say anything after their kiss. She remembered his eyes just before he spoke and she knew that he was expecting from her to finally admit what was happening between them. If she could go back…she would probably scream to him that she knew what was happening, she knew she was falling for him, hard. Scratch that. She had fallen for him…hard…head first…way too deep…But at that point? That kiss had shaken her so badly, she just couldn't speak. And apparently he had misunderstood that as her sticking to her previous declarations that she felt nothing for him. How could boys be so dense sometimes?

Luckily since they had used only two cars to come to the beach, they followed the same arrangement boys in one and girls in the others to go home so she was saved from having to face her boyfriend alone. It was bad enough that she wasn't able to restrain herself from comparing his goodnight kiss with the one she had shared with his brother just a while ago. Unfortunately, this kiss was no different than any other he had given her before.

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* * *

**

Lucas had left his house at the crack of dawn and found himself at the Rivercourt as usual taking out his frustrations on the _poor ball_ as Brooke had called upon him the first time she laid eyes on him. He could still tell you exactly what she looked like that morning, down to every detail, honestly, he still remembered the exact place of every shining lock of her hair that stuck out from her bun. It was kinda ironic he thought that now she was the one that drove him there, when at that time she had so effortlessly made him forget about all his problems just with her smile.

After missing one more shot, he wondered if he even made one since he came, and giving up, he collapsed on the bleachers, resting his head back, staring at the sky. His mind kept wondering at the previous night and the image of the kiss they shared was only interrupted by other images of the same girl that had managed to turn him into such a mess in the mere two weeks he had known her. The fact that he was at the Rivercourt wasn't really helping him with getting her out of his head as flashes of their first meeting kept running through his head. Who was he kidding? Wherever he had gone, he would still be thinking constantly about her. It's just that here, when they met, things seemed so much easier…so uncomplicated. He was just Broody and she was just Cheery, not Lucas Scott boyfriend of Peyton Sawyer and brother of Nathan Scott and Brooke Davis, best friend of Peyton Sawyer and since the day before…girlfriend of Nathan Scott.

He may have told her yesterday that he didn't care about what they were to them and that the important thing was to figure out what they meant to each other, but he knew better than that. He was just trying to make her acknowledge that there was something between them. Something…strong, and we're not talking about physical-wise here like she claimed, but rather emotional-wise, however surprising that seemed given the little time they knew each other, hell, he find it hard to believe himself, but it was there just the same. So he was just trying to prove his point because he was sick and tired of her constant denials. He wanted to shut her up once and for all and make her listen to her heart, and his as well. So that's why he kissed her. And boy oh boy had he proven his point alright! But instead of just proving his point to her…who somehow still failed to acknowledge it, but we will get back to that later, that damned kiss was enough to shoot any resolve he had about her straight to hell. It was supposed to show _her_, her feelings about him and not show _him_ that whatever he thought he felt for her didn't even scratch the surface of his feelings. Now it only left him wanting her more, needing her even more.

Shuffling through his pockets, he got his cell out and quickly went through the photos he had stored in it, until he found the one he was looking for. It was a photo of her in her blue cheerleading uniform with her hair tacked carefully into a bun, taken back in the good old days when they still pretended they could be friends. Before she decided that it _couldn't work. _

_Brooke walked into the school library searching with her eyes through the people sitting at the tables or standing at the library aisles. He noticed that many of them, well practically everyone that heard her come in, were still staring at her with shock. Brooke Davis in the library was sure an unexpected sight, and Brooke Davis in her cheerleading uniform was sure the most interesting sight in a room stuffed with books. Her eyes seemed to light up when she saw him and her dazzling smile made its appearance on her face, while she walked quickly to his table and took the seat next to him. He, of course, since he had been staring at the door since the moment he got there, saw her the moment she walked in._

"_Hey Broody! You're here!" She said in a hushed voice._

"_I told you I would be here…waiting…for you" He said returning her smile._

"_I came as soon as I could! Seriously…Dim is driving me completely out of my mind!"_

_Lucas let out a chuckle, "Yeah…he can do that"_

"_He just wouldn't let me go!"_

_Lucas frowned slightly._

"_He is just…urgh!" Brooke groaned a bit too loudly gathering some reproachful looks from the other students._

"_What did he do?"_

"_He was just being…Dim. I finally told him, you were waiting for me and you would go there and beat up his ass if he made me be late for one more minute…" _

"_I think I would…" Lucas agreed._

"_Awww, my hero!" Brooke giggled, "You should have seen his face after I told him! He disappeared immediately!"_

"_See…even Tim is not dumb enough to mess with me!" Lucas said assuming a fake-smug expression and gesturing to his forearm making Brooke burst into laughter._

"_Shhh!" He told her smiling as well._

_Brooke nodded trying hard not to laugh again._

"_Why did we have to meet here anyway?" She asked with annoyance._

"_Because I am supposed to be helping you with your English assignment before practice?"_

"_Boring…!"_

_Lucas shook his head._

"_You could help me with that later, tonight, tomorrow…" She pleaded._

"_Didn't you say the exact same thing yesterday?" He said raising his eyebrow._

"_Please?" Brooke begged giving him her best puppy eyes._

"_Oh, c'mon!" He whined though he knew she had already won and there was no way they were going to get any homework done, once again. _

"_Please, please, please!!!" Brooke insisted batting her eyelashes._

"_But it will be tomorrow for sure, right?" _

"_Yes!"_

"_Not bailing out on me again?" He insisted._

"_I promise!" _

"_Fine!"_

"_Yay!" She exclaimed excitedly clapping her hands and this time there was a round of shhhs coming from all around them._

_They both lowered their heads and laughed. _

"_Okay, and like what would you wanna us to do now, instead?" He asked quietly._

"_For starters, let's get out of here!" She exclaimed obviously not deterred by the glares they were receiving._

"_Before someone throws us out?" He questioned and she just laughed in response._

_Getting up and motioning for him to follow her she skipped to the door giving her smile to all those looking at her with frowns. He followed after gathering his books, looking down in embarrassment but without being able to erase the grin from his face. He followed her through the halls and out of the school building._

"_Where are you taking me?" He asked suspiciously._

"_As far away from school as possible?" _

"_Brooke…"_

"_I'm kidding! I know you would never skip school; you're such a good boy. Tutor-girl must be proud!" She teased him._

"_Should I be insulted?"_

"_Because I think you're a good boy?"_

"_Somehow…it keeps sounding worse and worse!" Lucas groaned._

_Brooke giggled. _

"_Why are you wearing your uniform, anyway?" He asked as they were walking along._

"_Why? Don't you like it?" She said stopping her walk and making a little twirl to show off her uniform._

"_Oh I do…I certainly do." He said with a smirk. "But I thought you were supposed to wear them only in game days?"_

"_Yeah, but I had to try it on, just to be on the safe side"_

"_Safe side?" He replied with puzzlement._

"_Didn't I tell you what Rach-ho did?"_

"_Oh-oh! This ain't gonna be pretty."_

"_Yeah…oh-oh is right! That stupid hoe ordered my uniform two sizes smaller!"_

"_Really?!" Lucas asked with a chuckle._

"_Absolutely! Thank God, I thought of washing it before the game, so I took it home and realized what she had done. Imagine if I hadn't found out in time! I would be forced to wear that tiny uniform on next week's game!"_

"_How tiny are we talking about?" He asked with interest._

"_Two sizes, Luke. Use your imagination!"_

"_Hmmm…" he said and pretended to be deep in thought. He then licked his lip a little and smirked at her. "Are you sure that you don't want to wear the smaller one instead?" _

"_Perv!" _

"_So you got her to order a new one?" He asked her again._

"_Nah-uh! I asked Bev to do it. She still thinks her little prank is gonna work…so she won't plan anything else until then and that will give me time to go through with my revenge"_

"_Poor Rachel!" _

"_Hey! You are supposed to be on my side!"_

"_I am! I'm just disappointed her plan didn't work" He said faking a sad face._

"_Did I tell you, you are a perv?"_

"_Many times…" _

_Brooke stuck her tongue out._

"_But that doesn't explain why you're wearing this…?" He asked again._

"_Oh…well, as I said, Bevin was the one that placed the order…so I had to make sure she didn't…well, you know Bev!"_

"_Right"_

"_And so I tried it on, but then I saw I was running late and I didn't want us to waste our whole free period…"_

"_I see…"_

_They had made their way behind the gym, not going anywhere in particular, just walking around talking._

"_Aww! Lucas look!" Brooke said pointing to a spot in the gym wall, next to a trash can._

"_Is that a cat?" He asked in wonder._

"_A kitten!" Brooke said excitedly as she slowly approached the small kitten and kneeled next to her. "Awww, it's so cute!" She cooed. "Come here, kitty, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you" _

_Lucas watched with a smile as she gathered the kitten in her hands and started stroking its grey fur._

"_What are you doing here, all alone, uh? Where is your mommy?" She asked the small kitten that was enjoying her stroking it. "Isn't it adorable, Broody?" She asked turning to him._

"_Yeah…" He replied quietly as he approached and kneeled beside her reaching out to stroke the kitten in her arms._

"_Here" Brooke said placing it in his arms and got up straightening up her skirt._

"_Where are you going?" _

"_To get it something to eat" _

"_Oh, ok. We'll be waiting right here. Isn't that right kitty?" He said turning to the little cat._

_Brooke laughed and he looked at her confused._

"_You're too cute!" She explained with a giggle._

"_Gee…thanks! Hey….take it easy!" He turned to the cat that was squirming in his lap again. "What? You liked her better?" He said feigning offense and giving a pout to the cat. But then he heard the click and raised his head in surprise._

"_What…did you just take my photo?!"_

"_I needed to immortalize that face, and what better way than to take a picture?" Brooke admitted with a giggle._

"_Oh no, no!" He exclaimed getting up with the kitten struggling to get away from him._

"_You looked sooo cute! And nobody would believe me if I told them…"_

"_You're not showing that to anyone!"_

"_Wanna bet? Believe me Broody, the ladies like the sensitive guys! And it's a pretty good picture…" She said showing him the photo._

"_This does not look sensitive! It looks gay!" Brooke erupted into laughter once again. "Delete it! Now!" He said as he tried to get the cell, but with the kitten in his arms, it wasn't that easy._

"_C'mon! I like it!"_

"_Haa…right!"_

"_I do!"_

"_You just wanna use it as blackmail, so I won't force you to do your English tomorrow!"_

"_No, no!" Brooke shook her head in protest. _

"_There is no way I'm letting you keep that!"_

"_C'mon! Please? I won't show it to anyone, I promise!"_

"_And I should trust you because?"_

"_I'll let you take my photo as well!" Brooke exclaimed like that seemed as the perfect solution._

"_And that helps me trusting you how exactly?"_

"_Leverage. You can use it as leverage!"_

"_You looking totally adorable with the kitty versus me looking totally gay? This is fair again because…?"_

_Brooke just grinned at him. "Please?" she said, sticking out her bottom lip and using her signature pout against him._

"_Ugh, I give up! How could I say no to that face?"_

"_Yay!"_

"_Ok…ok, here take it" He said handing her the kitten._

_Brooke took the kitten in her arms and kneeled back down cooing at her and stroking it. He must have snapped about 20 pictures of her and the kitten that day; of course in only about three of them was the kitten actually visible._

One picture always stood out from the collection. It was just when they had actually fed the kitten, after he of course had gone to bring something since she couldn't possibly part with it. As the end of the free period approached, they decided they had to let the kitten go. So she was saying goodbye to it, promising that they would come back tomorrow to look for it again. As she let it go, the kitten took a few steps and then surprisingly returned and licked her hands. Hm…yeah they had some food on them probably, but the smile on her face at that moment just melted his heart.

He looked at the picture intently. "You," He said out loud, pointing at the picture as if she was really in front of him hearing what he had to say. "You, are something else Brooke Davis. Whatever I do, I just can't get you out of my mind! You're like this disease that's slowly eating me alive, yet also what's keeping me alive. I'm so full of you, yet I can't get enough. What do you want me to do?"

He kept staring at the picture like he was actually expecting an answer. At least the picture wouldn't give him some lame ass excuse for what was happening between them.

"_We don't mean anything to each other. This is purely lust and nothing more." _He said mockingly imitating her voice. "Pfft! Yeah, right!"

When she told him her idiotic theory about the sexual tension between them, he felt so outraged…honestly it was the closest he ever came to considering ever slapping a girl.

"Who the hell do you think I am?!" He knew he was not a horny ass that would risk everything or hurt other people for a lay. That was not him. Nathan maybe. He had inherited that trait from their ass of a father thankfully. Nathan was the player. Lucas always had girlfriends…always seeking a relationship and feelings otherwise he wasn't interested in getting just that. Okay maybe not always…he wasn't a damn saint, he had his drunken one night stands to remember, but never when he was with someone. And again they weren't that many. And not that he had had many girlfriends before Peyton either. Being nobody doesn't help in that department much…and his confidence was never his strong point…again a big thanks to daddy dearest. Anyway, when he became popular, he got with Peyton and that was that. Therefore, to have Brooke there accusing him of just wanting to fuck her, Jesus! But…yeah there was a but. She had managed to put some doubt in his head. I mean she did have a point. What hot-blooded male wouldn't want to get a piece of her? "Ok… note to self, stop hanging out with Nathan and Dim… especially Dim, immediately!" He said shaking his head. So she had implanted a doubt…albeit small, she had done it. Not that he would ever admit that to her.

On the other hand, Brooke Davis was not like him. She was the exact opposite of him if even half the rumors he had heard about her were true. Brooke was a player; she unlike him didn't do relationships, just sex. Heck…even Peyton had half admitted something like that in one of their conversations about her. One of those Peyton used to give him to make him like Brooke. She really had to work on her arguments; of course it wasn't like he needed much convincing. Though, he wasn't sure that the statement could be used to describe his feelings for Brooke. On the contrary, sometimes he was absolutely sure he did not like her at all. But that didn't prevent him from wanting her. So even if most of the rumors were most probably Rachel's fabrications…there was truth beneath them. And when Brooke yelled at him that she didn't feel anything about him…he almost…almost believed her. If he hadn't looked into her eyes… cliché right? But eyes can't lie. Especially her big expressive hazel eyes that looked at him with so much pain and regret…and something else. So he decided to give it a last shot. Not very well thought out move as it proved. He tried to remember if he was meaning to kiss her from the moment he started his …attack. Probably yes…not that he gave much thought to it. But he had come so close to kissing her so many times he thought he would burst if he didn't finally go through with it.

So he did it… and not that shocking really…she didn't protest…quite the contrary. So about that kiss…either he had watched too many chick flicks or read too many romance novels, probably the second since Peyton never put him through that torture thankfully, and they had gone into his head…or he was high when it had happened. It sure felt like he was high. He couldn't quite describe it but as all things that concerned Brooke it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He loved Peyton and he liked kissing her. So far so good. But…when he kissed Brooke…it was as if this was the first real kiss he had ever been given. He felt it with every fiber of his body…he needed air and had to stop but it felt like if he stopped he would stop breathing. Hint the romance novels that tampered with his head. Anyway…the conclusion was quite simple really…he was crazy for her…lusting for her…wanting her…not being able to stand the thought of her with anyone else ever…He was starting to actually believe it, he was in love with his Cheery, who just so happened to be Brooke Davis, his brother's girlfriend and his girlfriend's best friend. Funny how truly small the world could be.

Now about Brooke again…she could take her sexual tension theory and…shove it in her ass! Urgh!

"Why do you have to be so stubborn? Huh?" He asked her picture. "Would it kill you to actually tell me that you feel it too?" He was sure she did, or as sure as a person with his self-esteem could really be. He just needed to hear her say it…but apparently he would have to live with just seeing it in her eyes. After he pulled away…there was no way in hell what he saw in her eyes…besides the pure shock…which he shared to be honest, cause he never anticipated something like that, he didn't knew it could feel that way, so besides that…he saw…well he certainly didn't see lust! Not just lust anyway. Closing his eyes and reliving the kiss he could come close to even believing she was in love with him too. Yeah right…the queen bitch in love and with him of all people. But he had hoped she would say something. Couldn't she see how much he needed her to say something? But she remained silent…and though somewhere within him he knew that it was partly because of her surprise…he still left her there. The real reason? He just had to get away and figure out what the hell was happening to him. He had to get away before he did something both of them were going to regret…even more. Not that he regretted kissing her, how could he? But it had taken him all the self-restrain he possessed to break their kiss and he really doubted he would be able to stop himself if he stayed for another minute next to her.

He dragged his ass back to the guys. When she came back, he couldn't stand to look at her. Not with Nathan beside her. So he avoided her eyes…and now…

"You're going to be pissed at me, aren't you? Either for that kiss or for leaving you there, or both? Maybe you'll avoid me again?"

He shook his head again and let out a short chuckle.

"God, now I'm talking to myself, just great."

He then let out a huge sigh and his voice became totally serious.

"Can't you see Cheery? I'm crazy for you. I don't know what to do; I just wish loving you wasn't this complicated."

He let out a sigh once a again and flipped his cell close making her picture disappear from his sight…if only he could make her as easily disappear from his mind. Taking a glance at his watch he hastily got up to leave the court…Nathan and Dan would be up by now and here they could easily find him.

**---**

Brooke woke up late in that sunny Sunday morning. Stretching out on her bed she realized with surprise that this was the best sleep she had gotten for quite a while. Considering how last night had gone that was plain weird…or not so much, since all her thoughts that night weren't exactly the ones you would expect her to have. However, the morning shed a new light to her jumbled thoughts. Now she was actually thinking about what she should have been thinking all along. The other people in this mess, the ones they were hurting…the ones they were betraying. Nathan…and Peyton…especially Peyton.

"_B. Davis you know no guy could ever resist you? Just keep your paws away from my boyfriend!" Peyton said smiling._

"_Hey, friendship rule number one… never play with each other's boy-toys. You know I would never do that, right?" _

"_Of course, Brooke. I was just kidding, what's wrong?" _

"_Nothing, nothing is wrong.__"_

**…**

_"I know you don't mean anything by it Brooke, but Haley doesn't. And you got a bit carried away I have to say. You know better than to flirt with other girls' boyfriends, Brooke! You're not a slut!"_

_"Maybe I am, Pey, maybe I've changed" _

_"What is wrong Brooke? What happened to you this summer?"_

**…**

"_You filthy skank!" The little red-head that burst through the door yelled with rage, slamming it shut behind her._

"_What the hell, Sherry?!" Brooke asked surprised and pissed by her friend's outburst._

"_Why, Brooke?! Why did you do it?!"_

"_What are you…"_

"_He told me, Brooke! Marc told me everything!"_

"_He told…you?" Brooke stuttered in shock. That idiot._

"_Yeah…didn't see that one coming, right? You thought you would screw me over and get away with it!"_

"_Listen Sherry, I don't know what he told you but…"_

"_He told me how you screwed him…how you screwed me…how you didn't give a shit about both of us!"_

"_It's not like that! Okay? You know that! You know I don't want Marc! Hell, it was me that encouraged you to go after him! Yesterday meant nothing, it was just a mistake…we got carried away!"_

"_And that makes it alright!? Hell, Brooke, if you wanted him I would have understood… I know he always wanted you…but no, you didn't! You just got horny and fucked him! Why him Brooke? I mean you could have any other guy…why him?"_

"_He was just there, he was consoling me…and one thing led to another and…"_

"_And you just used him! To make yourself feel better you made him hope again!"_

"_I didn't lead him on, Sher!"_

"_You had sex with him!"_

"_It meant nothing! Absolutely nothing!"_

"_Sex is not nothing!"_

"_It is to me!"_

"_Why him, Brooke? Huh? Why?! You knew how much I like him and you ruined any chance we had together!"_

"_But I didn't! It was just sex, Sherry, just meaningless sex! This doesn't have to ruin anything for you! It wasn't like the two of you were actually together anyway!"_

"_But that doesn't excuse what you've done! Together or not, you knew that it would hurt me but you still went through with it! I know that you can be a bitch to other people, but to me Brooke? How could you!"_

"_I'm sorry okay! Happy now?"_

"_God…you are clueless! I thought you were my friend Brooke. I thought you cared for my happiness…but Marc is right…you are heartless…the ice queen that is incapable of loving anyone but herself…so just stay here… and rot in hell all by yourself. That's the way it will be for the rest of your life because you're just a conceited, self-centred bitch who will be alone for the rest of your fucking life!"_

_The slamming of the door signalled her exit and Brooke was left once again alone._


	22. Drown The Noise Away

_**Chapter 22**_

**_Drown__ The__ Noise Away_**

Brooke made herself comfortable on her bed, settling the tube of Ben&Jerry's between her knees and pressed the play on the remote to start her DVD player. She had decided to spend her day at home and lick her wounds, with the help of ice-cream…lots of it, and if things got really depressing she could always resort to that chocolate cake she had spotted in the fridge. Not a very safe option since she had no idea how long that piece of pantry has been in there, but nothing a generous amount of whipped cream couldn't fix. To complete the whole treatment, she had also resorted to her collection of sappy chick flicks and she was now all set. It was the best therapy she could think of, after rejecting her initial impulse to drown her sorrows in vodka. She didn't want to turn to mommy dearest after all. That was just a big no no. So instead of an alcohol induced high, she chose a sugar high.

The ringing of her cell left her with the spoon hanging above the tube of the Ben&Jerry's. The caller id flashing on the screen brought a heavy sigh. Pressing the pause on the remote she took a deep breath… adjusted her jaw a little, then faked a smile and…

"Hey you!"

"Hey, baby! Sleep well?"

"Yeah…I love Sundays, don't you?"

"In basketball season? Not so much" Nathan replied in a tired tone.

"Oh, right! I forgot early morning practice with your dad?"

"Don't remind me! We've just finished. And dad was pissed"

"What now?!" She asked surprised.

"Lucas" Nathan let out grimly.

Another sigh. _Of course this would be about Lucas again._

"He didn't do well?"

"He didn't do at all."

"Huh?"

"He wasn't here"

"What …where…?" She asked confused. Both brothers had ensured her that their dad's practices weren't actually optional, unless you had a death wish or something.

"Your guess is as good as mine. He wasn't home when I woke up"

_Damn him! _

"Did you try his cell?"

"Yeah…and it went straight to voicemail. The dumbass must have turned it off. I tried calling him before dad woke up, but nothing…"

"Oh"

"Seriously…something is really wrong with my brother. He's starting to worry me."

"Maybe he went to Peyton's" _Not likely_

"I tried her as well. He wasn't there. She called me a while ago to check…she's worried as well. I even stopped by the Rivercourt, but he wasn't there either"

Now Brooke started to get worried herself as well. She would have bet he was at the Rivercourt. Now she just had absolutely no idea where else he could possibly be.

"Anyway, enough with him. I would be angry with him…but I think dad is angry enough for both of us."

She didn't really pay that much attention trying to figure out where he might have gone. Haley's perhaps?

"So, what are our plans for today?" He asked cheerily again.

"Erm…actually I think I'll stay home" Brooke said with hesitation, she had already planned to avoid everyone today, needing time to herself.

"Cool, I can stop by after lunch" He replied obviously not catching her meaning.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not feeling that great"

"What's wrong?" He asked with concern.

"Nothing, I think I caught a cold yesterday at the beach"

"Oh baby! That sucks! I can come and take care of you"

"No, no…I wouldn't want to give it to you, too"

"I don't care B, someone has to take care of you"

"You're too sweet." She said smiling at his thoughtfulness. "But really I'm not that bad. I will just stay in bed and tell Rosa to make me a soup."

"Ok…if you're sure. I could come to keep you company?"

"Don't you have homework?"

"Urgh…you caught me! Just trying to find any excuse to avoid doing it."

Brooke laughed.

"Really, Nate I'm fine. I will most probably spend the day sleeping and resting. I do feel a bit drowsy"

"Okay…I should probably stay here anyway, to get between Luke and dad when he decides to get his ass back here otherwise who knows what he will do to him. It's the second time in the last couple of weeks he missed practice"

_And both are my fault…great._

"Yeah, good idea" She agreed.

"Okay, baby…erm…call me later to tell me how you are? I don't wanna wake you, if you're sleeping"

"Ok…I'll do that, don't worry"

"Good, get some rest now"

"And you get some homework done!"

"Right" Nathan chuckled. "Bye, baby"

"Talk to you later, bye"

Putting the cell down Brooke got off her bed and walked to her window. That jerk didn't even let her get depressed in peace! He had to go and….where the heck did he go? Before she could come up with any idea her cell rang again. She almost slapped herself when the name flashing brought her disappointment, did she actually think that he would call her?

Another deep breath and here we go cheery as usual.

"My bestest friend!"

"Hey…" Peyton's voice came faintly

"Okay…are we having one of our emo days again?"

"Uh" Was her only response.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked flopping back on the bed.

"Lucas"

_Like I didn't expect that…_

"Oh…right! Nate told me he didn't show up for practice with their dad"

"Yeah…and he is not answering his phone and we have no idea where he is and…" Peyton started rambling.

"Whoaa…hold your horses! He went somewhere and his cell probably died…"

"I know! No big deal, right? But not when he misses the practice! He must have a serious reason! He wouldn't do that otherwise! I mean I know he's not been the happiest of people lately but he's not suicidal! And missing practice again in two weeks is really asking for it!"

"Well…I'm sure he had a good reason. And I'm sure he will tell you when he gets back"

"Yeah…it's…urgh! You know yesterday was so good…I was sure it wouldn't last!" Peyton whined.

"You and your pessimism. Have you tried tutor-girl?" Brooke said biting her lip.

"Yeah…and Jake was with her…so he's not with them either"

"Maybe he went for a walk…to the café…who knows…"

"Since 7 am?! It's been more than 5 hours!"

"He will show up soon. Stop worrying!" She commanded.

"I can't help it! Ok… ok. I'll just have to give him a piece of my mind when he gets back for making all of us worry"

"Good"

"Now…I guess you have plans with your boy toy for today?"

"Nah…I'm staying in"

"Both of you? Can't say I blame him for wanting to get some alone time with you…you really kept him at bay yesterday!"

"I did not!" She protested indignantly, of course Peyton noticed her efforts to abstain from any make out yesterday…shit! "And actually…I'm staying alone. I'm not feeling that good"

"What's wrong!? Why didn't you say something? And here I talk your head off about Luke! Do you want me to come over?"

"Calm down, P. Sawyer! I'm fine. I just think I'm coming down with a cold. Nothing some rest won't cure"

"Oh, good. You want me to drop by, anyway? Maybe watch a movie or something"

"Nah…I'm just going to try to get some sleep"

"Yeah, ok, if you need anything just give me a call"

"Will do!"

"Ok…so I'll let you rest"

"Thanks…and …urm…Pey…when you hear from Lucas, give me a call so I can yell at you for stressing over nothing again!" _That made sense, right?_

"Yeah, yeah…whatever!"

_Well…it seemed to make sense to Peyton, thankfully!_

"Love you!"

"You too! Call you later!"

Brooke let out a frustrated groan and grabbing her ice cream she dug the spoon in it. Where was I? Oh yeah, time to pig out.

* * *

"Nathan?" Haley yelled as she entered the Scott household in the late afternoon. Surprisingly, Nathan had followed Brooke's advice to deal with his homework and called Haley over for help. With all the other students Haley tutored and Nathan's practices it didn't really leave them with many hours they were both available. So Haley agreed to sacrifice her Sunday evening so she could help out one of her best friends.

"Upstairs!" Came Nathan's reply.

The house seemed empty. Dan and Deb must have been out once again. Not that she minded, actually she didn't care much to see either of them. Now the other resident of the house had still given no sign and though up until the afternoon most of them were just pissed at him, now they had all started to get worried. Dan was probably still just pissed.

She entered the room and found Nathan sprawled on his bed joystick in hand.

"So I see you've been reading" She said sarcastically.

"Hello to you too" Nathan said with a grin while pausing the game.

"Don't you hello me! You were supposed to be doing your trig!"

"But you see, here's the thing, if I could, then you wouldn't be here right now, would you?"

Haley was ready to retort but Nathan caught her to it.

"I tried! Seriously, I did! I just don't understand that stuff! It's like a foreign language to me!"

"You really tried?" She asked softening up.

"Of course! I wouldn't ask you to ditch Jake if I didn't have serious problems!"

"He didn't seem to mind all that much, he had his own art project to finish"

"Good"

"Now will you drop that stupid game so we can start? At least I won't say I wasted my entire evening for nothing!"

"Don't you have homework of your own?"

"I've finished it this morning" She said proudly.

"See…I had practice! I couldn't have done it even if I wanted to!" Nathan whined.

Haley gave him a pointed look and he chuckled.

"Yeah…I wouldn't have done it anyway" He condescended as he put the joystick aside and spread his book and notebook on the bed instead.

Haley sat on the bed across him as well and opened her own book and notes.

"Lucas is not here yet?" She asked quietly as she was skimming through the exercises Nathan had handed her over and were due for tomorrow.

"Nope…I don't know where he disappeared. It's getting a bit strange"

"Are you worried?" She asked raising her head to look at him.

"Not yet…he's been weird lately…I don't know. It's not like he hadn't pulled this disappearing act before…but it was usually because of something that had happened with dad…"

"I know"

"Anyway…now something _will_ happen with dad" He said grimly.

"I bet"

"Awfully chatty, aren't you?" He mocked her.

"I'm just wondering what could set him off" Haley said with a shrug.

"He was strange yesterday…I mean…" Nathan hesitated.

"Your fights"

"Jake told you?" He asked not seeming surprised about it.

"He mentioned it" Haley said with a shrug.

"Yeah...he totally overreacted but we were cool afterwards"

"About Brooke?" She asked curiously, she really needed to know the details about this.

"Yeah…"

But obviously Nathan wasn't willing to share them.

"Where is she anyway? How come she allowed you to actually study?" She said sarcastically.

"She's a bit sick"

"Oh! I had no idea, sorry" She did seem fine yesterday…both her and Lucas missing…this was either getting too weird or she was just getting way too paranoid.

* * *

It had gone dark by now. Brooke had called Nathan a couple of hours ago and learnt that he was studying with Hales and that Lucas had not returned yet. Peyton had not also called yet, so she assumed nothing had changed since then. He was really starting to irritate her. She could understand his need to be alone. After all, she was also hiding in her house today refusing to face anyone after what happened between them yesterday. But the jerk could at least answer his damn cell and let them all know he was fine. She could imagine him sitting somewhere all by himself and brooding. Maybe at the Rivercourt, though Nathan said he had stopped by there and he wasn't, but he could have gone there later. Or he could be at their beach house; he did say yesterday that he went there to think also. So she thought about him brooding…and all she wanted to do was go and find him. Ok…yes, she wanted to see him. Was this that bad again? Probably. But she did, I mean how could she not want to see him after yesterday? Despite her guilt and knowing how wrong all this was, what he made her feel yesterday, she just wanted to feel it again and he was the only one that could give this to her. So yeah…bad bad Brooke…but she was dying to see him and talk to him and heck, yeah, she was dying to kiss him again. That however didn't mean that she was actually going to look for him. She knew how seeing him would play out. They would probably fight at first, yell at each other a bit and probably end up kissing until one of them came to their senses again and then run as far away as possible. So no, no matter how much she wanted to see him she was not going to do it. And she was proud of herself for keeping this resolve the whole day. Okay, so maybe she had got dressed five times and walked as far as her car two of these times, but in the end she returned back and changed into her pjs. It was the first time she had come back from her car that she resorted to the chocolate cake in the fridge and her stomach was now a mess. At least now when asked if she was feeling well, she didn't have to lie so much anymore.

* * *

"So I guess we're done for today" Haley said with a smile.

"Finally! Thank God!!" Nathan exclaimed obviously beyond frustrated after their long tutoring session.

"You know one would think that you didn't enjoy your time with me if you keep talking that way!" She said mockingly.

"Hales…I love spending time with you and you know it, but studying is not my idea of a fun evening. In fact, just the words studying and fun should not be used in a sentence unless the word not is in between."

"Ha! I know exactly what your view of a fun evening is…and believe me" Haley said poking him in the chest "I do not share your view!" She concluded enunciating each word.

Nathan smirked "You would be the only girl in the whole school that doesn't"

"What an arrogant jerk!" She said fake scowling at him. "And Peyton agrees with me!"

"Eww! Peyton is like….my sister!" He exclaimed. "She doesn't count!"

Haley looked at him surprised but he didn't seem to notice it.

"She's dating Lucas! Eww!" He continued and Haley laughed with him.

"So I better get going, you're all set for trig tomorrow and it is rather late" She said after shoving her books into her bag.

"You can hang out here some more" He offered.

"You want me to help you with something else? You want us to check your calculus? You have another assignment for tomorrow?" She asked baffled. She was sure he would be jumping at the opportunity to stop studying and… she was right!

"Hell, no!" He yelled hurriedly making her laugh. "I thought we could just hang out some…maybe play a game?" He said pointing to the playstation.

"Hm…" Haley pretended to ponder about it. She had actually started enjoying the stupid game after Lucas had forced her to play with him so many times. And she had to admit she was getting pretty good at it too. That was the reason Lucas had stopped to ask her to play after the first few times she actually beat him. But poor Nathan obviously had no idea, and beating the younger arrogant Scott was a very thrilling prospect.

"Come on! Lucas is not here, Brooke is stuck at home…"

"So basically, you only want me to stay because your girlfriend is sick and your brother is an ass?" She said assuming a serious tone though her mouth twitched into a smile.

Nathan burst into laughter.

"You're something else, James! And no…I don't want you to stay because of that…but you have to admit that if Luke was here he would be hogging you as he usually does!"

"What can I say? I'm that special, that boy can't live without me!" She said teasingly.

"Well, he is an egoistical jerk…he can't keep you to himself…I want time with the _special_ you too!" Nathan said in a whiny voice bringing Haley into a bear hug.

"Do you have any idea how wrong that just sounded?!" Haley exclaimed as she pushed him away before bursting into laughter once again.

Nathan started laughing again and got up to get the second joystick for her.

* * *

They were about five minutes into the game when they heard Nathan's parents return. Deb came up to check on him and cordially greeted Haley before asking about Lucas. Nathan hesitantly informed her that he hadn't shown up yet and Deb left feeling worried, not so much about his whereabouts but more so about her husband's reaction.

Haley and Nathan continued their game but about twenty minutes later Dan's voice booming through the house interrupted them once again. Lucas was finally home.

Nathan put the game on pause and got up, walked to the stereo and turned it on to a considerable volume. Haley just caught Dan calling his son a stupid loser, before the music drowned out his voice and she cringed. She gave Nathan a grateful smile and he walked back to sit on the bed next to her.

"I'm sorry you are here for this" He said regretfully.

"It's ok. I just know Luke wouldn't want me to hear it. Your father can be such an…"

"Yeah" Nathan agreed and looked at the door thoughtfully.

"If you want to go down there…" Haley offered hesitantly reading his wish to somehow help Lucas.

"Nah…I would only make it worse. He needs to deal with it on his own" He said used to his father and brother's fights, it was usually not wise to get in the middle. He often tried to smooth things over but he only managed to somehow aggravate Dan more making him even crueler to Lucas.

They sat there in an uncomfortable silence when Nathan's cell startled them. He took it and turned to Haley, "It's Brooke"

"Hey, B" He said then turning to the phone after accepting the call.

"Hey, yourself"

"Feeling any better?" He asked with concern making Haley smile. He could really be a sweet guy if he wanted to. Too bad he exhausted his sweetness on that skank. Okay, so yesterday Brooke had treated her nicely, but her suspicions about her and Lucas weren't letting her change her mind about her initial opinion for her.

"Yeah, after tonight's sleep I will be all set for school tomorrow"

"That's…" He started to say but Brooke interrupted him.

"God, what is that awful thing I'm hearing? I can hardly make out what you say!"

"Oh that's…, heyyy! It's not awful! I listen to this stuff!" He protested.

Both Haley and Brooke snorted unbeknownst the one to the other. That rap thing he was defending was more than awful both girls thought with disgust. Nathan saw Haley's expression and scoffed at her but Brooke's voice interrupted him before he could say something.

"Could you maybe turn it down a notch so I can actually hear you?" She said sarcastically.

"Sorry, baby. I'm just using it to…erm…Dan is yelling downstairs" He explained but walked to the stereo and lowered the volume a bit.

"He's yelling at…is Lucas back?" She asked letting out a sigh of relief. That was the main reason she had called after all, and she was dying to ask as soon as he picked up the phone…but it was obviously not the best conversation starter.

"Yeah, yeah he finally returned."

"Where has he been? What did he say?" She asked anxiously unable to stop herself.

"I haven't talked to him yet. Dan must have caught him as soon as he walked in, we just heard him yell at him"

"We? Tutor-girl is still there?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, she is" He affirmed and Haley looked up curiously guessing they were talking about her.

"She's making you study up to this hour?! Is she out of her mind?" Brooke shrieked.

Nathan chuckled.

"No, no. We stopped about half an hour ago. We were just playing some NBA live"

"You found some other girl to torture with that idiotic game now that I'm not around?"

Nathan laughed "Actually, to my surprise, Hales here is really good at it"

"Is she now?" Brooke asked skeptically while Haley smiled proudly. "Better than me?" Brooke continued with a scoff without really knowing why.

"Don't worry baby, you have other talents" He said suggestively making now Brooke smile and Haley scoff again without the latter knowing exactly why, except because that was just gross…yes it was!

The loud banging of a door startled both Nathan and Haley.

"Shit" He mumbled as he heard Dan yell something he couldn't make out.

"What?" Brooke asked unaware of what was happening.

"Dad is probably done with Luke" He explained.

"Oh! Anyway…I'll let you back to your games. I just called to say goodnight"

"Okay. Erm…you know, give a call to Peyton if you can. Tell her that her boyfriend finally has found his way home, because she was really worried"

"Of course, I'll let her know"

"Cool. Goodnight, baby. Can't wait to see you tomorrow. I really missed you today" Nathan said with a smile while Haley lowered her head with annoyance…just gag her now!

"Yeah you too…goodnight" Brooke replied quietly.

* * *

Just as soon as Brooke called Peyton, Peyton once again called Lucas and thankfully his cell was finally on.

"Hello, Peyt" Lucas said picking up his cell.

"Don't you hello Peyt me! Where the hell have you been?" She asked furiously. She really didn't mean to go off on him just as he picked up the phone…but she had been worrying all day and she needed some explanation! And he had talked so casually…and he hadn't even bothered to call her when he got home though he must have seen her numerous calls when he turned his cell on. She was the one that called once again! So yeah…she was pretty pissed by now!

Lucas let out an exasperated sigh. He already had this 'discussion' with Dan; he really didn't need Peyton to get on his nerves now.

"I was out" He answered tiredly, giving the same answer he gave to him.

"You were out?! Are you fucking kidding me?!" She yelled pretty much like Dan had.

"Come on, Pey, don't start this now" He said with a sigh.

"What the fuck, Lucas?! You've been missing all day…I don't know how many times I called you and your cell was out…"

"My battery died" He lied.

"I don't care! I've been worried sick all day!"

"Why on earth would you be worried?!" He asked exasperated.

"Because we had no idea where you were! Because you missed your practice!"

"I told you I was out!" He yelled as well.

"Out?! Just out?! Where the hell is this out?! Why didn't you call even one of us to tell us where the heck you went off to, especially me?!"

"Why would I? Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"Because I was worried, you jerk!"

"Well, you shouldn't have!" He replied coldly.

"How can you say that?" Peyton asked in a hurt tone and he was sure she was about to cry.

"Pey, just… don't do this now. I'm really not in the mood for this" Really…now was just not the time…

Lucas had spent his entire day thinking about Brooke and fighting with his feelings for her and the guilt he felt for what he had done last night. He really was just out. He must have walked the entire Tree Hill today…and not just once. At some point he had gone at their beach house and spend a few hours on their porch at the same spot he had kissed her. He then found himself outside of her house staring at her red door, questioning his self why on earth would someone paint their door red? He had really struggled with himself and finally managed not to go in there. Of course that didn't stop him from walking back there about three times again…but who's counting, right? He knew how it would go had he gone in…given she was in there and not somewhere with her new boyfriend, _enjoying_ herself…So, he would tell her how he felt…she would say she felt nothing…they would fight and yell and then either he would beat some sense into her…or most likely kiss some sense into her. Enjoyable as that would be…and no matter how bad he really wanted it…it wouldn't help with anything. They would probably end up in deeper shit that they were now. So he didn't go in…and he just spent his entire day try to figure out what to do next, how to regain his self-control, because honestly…he knew he was losing it. He didn't trust himself anymore.

And then he got home and was greeted by Dan. Not that he listened to a word he had said…he only caught that he was grounded for two weeks…but who cared. So now to have to face Peyton's anger? He was just not up to it. But Peyton obviously didn't seem willing to let it go.

"You are not in the mood?! I don't believe this! What the hell is wrong with you Lucas?!"

"Nothing, nothing! I just needed to get out! I wanted to be left alone for one day! One fucking day! I don't have to tell you about everything I do! We don't have to spend every fucking moment together!"

"You know what Luke…screw you!" And with that Peyton hang up and burring her head in her pillow dissolved into sobs.

* * *

_**AN:** _Yeah, I'm actually getting worse and worse at this…so once again I am so sorry for the huge delay! Things are looking better with my job and hopefully I will have more time from now on and update sooner. I also would like to blame my stupid mail account…it's acting up…and it caused an even bigger delay!

A big thanks to Denise (lonesome dreamer)! She did an awesome job as usual with this! And thanks to both her and Cinthana for settling my insecurities about the Naley parts!

Anyways, thank you to every one that read and especially reviewed the last chapter! I'm so relieved my lack of updates hasn't made you forget about this fic!

I'm also happy you didn't hate Brooke after that….and could at least partly understand her.

So not so much Brucas here….but we have other couples to consider…and I have to admit it is the first time I actually enjoyed writing Leyton! Hehehhe

I hoped you liked…but either way please tell me what you think!


	23. Change of Angle…Change of Heart

_**AN: **__Happy New Year!!! I wish everyone the best for 2008! _

_And as one of my new year's resolutions, I will try to update more often so I won't have to bother you with endless apologies like now! So…I am SO sorry!_

_And what day to better start, than the first of the new year, right? _

_Thank you for all your reviews, and I have added some personal thank yous at the end of this chapter. _

_I have to note here about the last chapter's title, Drowning the Noise Away, it was not my idea, but my wonderful beta's idea. Denise came up with the awesome title and as soon as she told me it really seemed perfect to me! As Noor said in her review, the ways it can be interpreted were so very fitting! So all the credit to Denise, thank you! You make my story so much better!_

_Again for this chapter I need to thank Denise again and from now on, Cinthana also that offered her help! Thank you girls!! I couldn't do this without you! _

_Finally a big thank you to Vicky that still sits and talks me through every detail of my story without getting tired! And she is also forcing me to put my butt down and actually write! _

_So on with this chapter, __I hope you'll enjoy it! It's one I personally like because of its ending, since I've waited a long time for this! _

_Please read and review!!!_

* * *

_**Chapter 23**_

_**Change of Angle…Change of Heart**_

Brooke walked briskly through the Tree Hill High hallways towards her locker, just a few minutes before the warning bell would signal the start of the first period. She noticed people were staring at her and gossiping among them, not that it was that unusual for her, but today it seemed more intense even for her standards. She guessed it had to do with her and Nathan. There were quite a few people that saw them in the beach party on Saturday, so the news that they had become a couple was probably all over school. It was to be expected and Brooke couldn't deny that it made her quite giddy to look at all the envious faces of the other girls around her. Brooke had nailed the Tree Hill High's biggest player, the basketball star, the king of the school, the guy all the girls wanted. So what if he wasn't the guy _she_ actually wanted? She could still feel happy to get all those envious glares, especially the ones she was sure she would get from Rachel. She was actually looking forward to seeing her today! Hey, she had to get her kicks out of something, right? She was finally able to put yesterday's depression behind her and was now enjoying her new reign next to Nathan.

At least that was what she thought until she spotted him getting something out of his locker. She momentarily hesitated moving forward and thought about just turning back or maybe she could just pass by him, he had his back turned to her, he wouldn't notice her, hopefully. At that moment, Lucas shut his locker and turned her way. Their eyes met and they stood just staring at each other. Someone accidentally pushed Brooke forcing her to break their stare. She turned and snapped at the stupid freshman that was feverishly apologizing to her, when she heard Lucas chuckle. Turning her face from the terrified freshman that took this opportunity to bolt as fast as he could from the site, she saw that Lucas had approached her and was now standing in front of her.

"Hey," he said hesitantly searching her face to decipher today's mood. Was she going to yell at him? Was she going to flee?

"Hi," she responded quietly, almost shyly.

He didn't expect this and suddenly he didn't know what to say. Brooke didn't seem willing to offer anything else either. Silence took them over. Lucas shoved his hands into his pockets discreetly shifting his weight from one foot to another nervously and Brooke adjusted her back pack.

"Nathan said…" They both started at the same time and looking at each other started laughing.

"Nathan apparently says a lot!" Lucas chuckled.

Brooke grinned and waited for him to continue. "So?" She prompted.

"He told me you were a bit sick yesterday…a cold or something. Are you feeling better today?"

"Yeah, it was…I just…" She paused, letting out a sigh, "I'm fine now."

"Right," Lucas nodded. When Nathan told him this morning during their breakfast that she had been sick yesterday, he wasn't really convinced. He guessed she had used it as an excuse to avoid her boyfriend after their…kiss…and now from her expression he was even more convinced that he was right. "Well, that's good," he offered anyway deciding not to question her.

"Yeah."

"So, what did Nathan tell you?" He asked her.

"Oh! He told me you missed practice yesterday because you…you were out," She said looking at him in question but all he offered was a nod so she continued, "And then, your father…I guess…" She lowered her head hesitating again on how to ask him, "Are you okay?" She asked finally looking at his eyes.

Lucas sighed.

"Yeah…well, grounded for two weeks, but yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"It's no big deal," he shrugged.

"Well, I think it sucks. I can't even imagine being grounded for one day, let alone two weeks!"

"What do you mean you can't even imagine it?" He asked her looking confused.

"I mean, I've never been grounded," she explained plastering a wide smile.

"You've never been grounded?" Lucas repeated in disbelief.

"Nope!" Brooke said with a giggle.

"Never?" Lucas asked again trying to process the concept.

Brooke just shrugged.

"Wow…you must have been such a good kid," he said laughing.

"Who me? Please! You know I'm impossible!" She admitted giggling again.

Lucas just laughed harder. "That's why I find it so hard to believe! "

"See, Broody, for them to ground me, it would mean they actually notice I exist." Brooke said feigning nonchalance.

Lucas stopped laughing immediately.

"Brooke, I'm sorry,"

"Hey, I'm not the one grounded for two weeks."

"You never told me that your parents…" He continued seriously but was interrupted by Theresa's shrieks that came running to Brooke almost pummeling her to the ground.

"Brookie! Tell me it's true!"

"Huh?" Brooke said surprised and trying really hard not to slap Theresa for interrupting them. Not that the conversation they were having was the least bit enjoyable for her, but after missing him like crazy yesterday, being there and talking to him again felt incredibly good, much better than she thought was possible. And seeing him look so concerned for her was more than she could hope for after the way he had left her after their kiss. To her, it proved only one thing: he cares.

"You and Nathan? Are you together?! Bevin told me you were together at the beach party! She said you are finally dating! Is it true?" Theresa went on excitedly.

"Yeah, T, it's true," Brooke forced a smile all the while noticing Lucas' expression that was turning colder by the second.

"Oh my God! This so great! You're so lucky, Brooke! Nathan is amazing and _so_ hot! You must be so happy!" She gashed.

"I am…" She whispered in reply lowering her eyes.

"I've gotta go," Lucas mumbled and turning around started walking fast away from them.

"Lucas…" Brooke managed to get out faintly, but he didn't turn around even if he had heard her, and Theresa just went on talking about Nathan and Rachel and whoever else, dragging Brooke through the hall with her.

* * *

She was just able to get away from Theresa when she reached her locker and noticed Peyton getting her books from her own that was conveniently located just next to Brooke's. 

"Hey, Goldilocks! Can you believe how fast the rumor mill works in this place? You won't believe the amount of glares I received since I got here today and first period hasn't even started yet!" Brooke rambled on excitedly.

"Brooke," Peyton acknowledged grimly as she turned to her after slamming her locker shut.

"Okay…" Brooke mumbled clearly surprised. "What crawled up your ass and died this fine morning?"

"I'm not in the mood, Brooke." She replied getting ready to walk to her class.

"No kidding! What's up, Pey?" Brooke asked with concern.

Peyton let out a sigh and was about to reply but Brooke noticed that her expression suddenly changed.

"I gotta go, I'm late for class." She hurriedly said.

"But the bell hasn't …" Brooke was about to protest, when she heard him behind her.

"Peyton, wait!" Lucas called out hurrying to catch her, but Peyton had already turned around and disappeared around the hall. "Shit!" He exclaimed with frustration.

Brooke turned abruptly to face him. "What the hell was that?" She enquired angrily.

"That…was none of your business," he replied coldly.

"The hell it wasn't! What did you do to her?" Brooke insisted seeming already furious.

"Do you really want to get into this, here? Now?" He asked throwing a pointed look at the hall around them that was crowded with other students many of whom were already openly staring at them from the moment they saw Peyton's rapid getaway.

Brooke cursed under her breath, "You'd better not done anything stupid!" She hissed and securing her back pack on her shoulder, stomped away from him. Lucas shook his head in exasperation and headed to his own class.

* * *

By the time of their shared free period, Brooke had gotten the gist of what had happened between Peyton and Lucas from her semi-depressed friend that was now more than convinced that whatever problem had troubled Lucas the past weeks was directly linked to her. No matter how much Brooke had tried, she did not manage to appease her fears this time. Not that she blamed Peyton. Last night's outburst was too much, at least from what she managed to gather. Needless to say that when Brooke stomped into one luckily almost empty library to find Lucas, she had her mind set on giving him hell. She found him sitting as usual at one of the tables absorbed into one of his books. 

Lucas on his part had spent his day trying to close his ears to all the gossip going around about Brooke and Nathan. He was tired of hearing all the enthusiastic comments from all those who saw them as the new "it" couple in the school. He had to listen to the eager followers that talked about how the king of the school had found his new queen. But he also had to listen to the more envious ones that whispered among themselves about the tricks the LA bitch must have used to seduce him. So yeah, after hearing how apparently she had given him the best sex ever on Rachel's house parking lot, or was it in the gym after Friday's practice?…He was certainly not in a good mood. He had also attempted a couple of more times to find Peyton and talk to her. Truthfully, he did not try all that hard. He was not looking forward to having to apologize yet again. He knew he was on the wrong, but at that point, he really didn't care. The way she was avoiding him actually seemed like a blessing to him, at least he would not have to pretend again.

He didn't notice Brooke walk in and she approached him snapping the book from his hands.

"What the fuck?!" Lucas yelled startled and then noticed who the culprit was. "Oh, it's you," he said tiredly. After her reaction this morning when Peyton ran away from him, he expected something like this and was not at all surprised. He had figured by now how protective Brooke could get over her best friend and he knew she was not going to let something like this without meddling. Of course, if she stopped for one minute to think, she would figure out that this was ultimately as much her fault as his. Or at least that's what he liked to tell himself.

"We need to talk, now!" Brooke snapped.

"I have to finish this book for my…" He started explaining.

"You can either come with me so we can talk, or I can just say what I have to say right here! Your choice!"

Lucas looked around him noticing the few people sitting at the other tables, they were not many but they were still there, there was no way she was going to say anything. Smirking, he leaned back in his chair crossing his arms in front of his chest and stared at her defiantly.

She was not going to let him get away with this excuse for the second time today. She had to talk and he would listen, one way or the other. She looked around the few people there, mostly geeks she had never noticed before, now what could she say that would draw their attention?

Assuming a sad expression and a confidential tone in her voice that she seemed to lower, but keeping it loud enough so anyone in the room could hear them, she leaned towards Lucas.

"God, Luke, I'm so sorry!"

"Huh?" Lucas responded confused. What was she up to?

"When Nathan told me I couldn't believe it!" She continued, "I mean it must be horrible for you, but really, Luke, hitting on Jake?" She said raising her voice at the last part.

"What?!" Lucas yelled managing to attract the attention of even the few students that their heads hadn't snapped their way after Brooke's last comment.

"I know realizing that you're gay must have been really difficult for you, but Jake is with Haley! I'm sure I can hook you up with a free man!"

"What are you…?" Lucas started but then hearing the snickers from the people around him, turned crimson red.

"I think…hm… I don't know, do you think Tim is by now desperate enough to give you a chance?" She asked looking sympathetic.

"Are you nuts?! Brooke, what the hell are you trying to do?!" Lucas exclaimed standing up now.

"Oh, c'mon, I saw you checking him out at the beach party, don't deny it! There is nothing to be ashamed for! Right, guys?" She concluded turning to smile sweetly at their audience. She was extremely happy to see one of the guys there, a skinny dark guy, eyeing Lucas up and down appreciatively, and she almost burst into laughter when Lucas noticing the same thing seemed petrified.

"We're getting out of here, now!" He said firmly and started pushing Brooke outside.

"But why? I thought you had to study! Hey, maybe you can help him!" She yelled turning to the guy that was still looking at Lucas.

"Out! Now!" Lucas repeated and pushed her all the way out of the library and out to the quad.

There were clouds in the sky and a slightly chilling breeze, the signs of the early autumn. The weather was not that bad, but enough to force the teenagers that were still used to the summer heat to avoid lingering at the quad, providing the two of them the seclusion they needed. As soon as they were out, Brooke dissolved into laughter.

"God, you're out of your mind!" Lucas exclaimed shaking his head, but with a small smile threatening to appear on his face. The experience was of course very very embarrassing, but Brooke was just so crazy… so adorably crazy.

"That was to teach you not to mess with me," she replied with a smug grin.

"Lesson learned."

"Good boy, you're a fast learner," she affirmed satisfied and Lucas smiled at her.

And there they were, indulging into playful banter, enjoying their games, forgetting the actual reason that had brought them there, or how messed up things were really between them. But they couldn't really forget, so Brooke's smile started forming into a frown and Lucas let out a heavy sigh.

"Peyton is a mess," Brooke stated deciding it was time to get to the point.

"We just had a fight."

"Just a fight?" Brooke questioned getting angry again, remembering the state she had left her friend in.

"Look, it was no big deal, if…"

"No big deal?! I can't believe what you said to her yesterday! How could you do this to her? And you haven't even apologized!"

"So what? You came here to scold me? What? Are you going to ground me too? Make me write 'I'm sorry' one hundred times, or something?" He retorted sarcastically. He was already feeling bad for what he had said to Peyton. Brooke was the last person he needed to be telling him that what he had done was wrong. She was the damn reason he was behaving like this, she was the reason he could not recognize himself anymore!

"You can be such an ass!" Brooke yelled.

"I told you before and I'll tell you again, this is none of your business," he replied calmly.

"Peyton _is_ my business!"

"What I do with _my _girlfriend, is not _your_ business! That's the way _you_ want it to be!" He said looking at her coldly.

"It is when you make _my_ best friend cry!"

"Do I ask you what you say to my brother? Do I yell at you for the bullshit you feed him? Stay out of this!"

"This is not about me and Nathan!"

"No it isn't. It isn't about you, period. It's between me and Peyton."

"So you're saying I had nothing to do with your behavior? You're saying you disappearing from the face of the earth all day yesterday had nothing to do with me?"

"Did your _sickness_ have anything to do with me?" _Was she really asking him all that?_

"At least I didn't yell at Nathan!"

"But you lied to him!"

"I…I…argh! We are talking about your stupid behavior now!" Brooke let out stomping her foot on the ground.

"Fine, Brooke. I'm the ass. Happy now?" He said sarcastically.

"You bet you are! Now go and apologize to her, I don't care how, but you make it right with her!"

"Right? Do you ever think about what you're saying? How am I supposed to make anything right when I keep on lying to her?"

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?" She snapped glaring at him.

"I don't think I need to try," he replied firmly matching her glare. He would not let her make him the bad guy in this. They were in this mess together and she should at least acknowledge that.

"I didn't yell at Peyton last night, you did!"

"I didn't kiss myself at the beach house, Brooke! And I sure as hell didn't make you kiss me back! You did that on your own!"

"This has nothing to do with that!" She said cringing inside; of course this had everything to do with that!

"Of course it does!" They should be here talking about their kiss, about what that meant to both of them. Instead, she was yelling at him about how he should treat Peyton!

"And we're not talking about that…that! Ever!"

"Of course, what else could I expect from you anyway?" Lucas said bitterly.

"Do you feel good about what you've done to her?!" Brooke went on shifting the focus on Peyton again and as far as away from their kiss as possible.

"No! Of course not! And I did try to talk to her but she didn't let me, I…"

"Well, try harder!" Brooke interrupted with a demanding tone.

"I don't have to do anything you tell me to!" He bit back.

"Well someone has to because you are acting like a jerk Lucas Scott!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I am."

"Maybe you are!"

Lucas heaved a sigh and shook his head in defeat, "Is that all?" He asked resuming a calm tone again.

"What?"

"Is that all? Are you done? Do you feel good about yourself now that you came and yelled at the evil me?"

Brooke remained silent looking at the ground.

"I guess that's all." He said shaking his head ready to turn around. "Don't worry; I'll fix things with Peyton. Mission accomplished. Now you can go back and be all happy and guilt-free with your boyfriend."

Brooke again didn't say anything as she watched him go.

* * *

Brooke was sitting with Nathan, Peyton and Jake at the cafeteria at lunch period, waiting for Lucas and Haley to arrive. The two were slowly making their way there, after they had met up after Haley's chemistry class. Haley was rambling on about the stupid mistake Tim had made causing a mini explosion in the lab that almost destroyed all her books she had left on a desk nearby and Lucas was pretending to listen. 

"So then, Mr. Jacobs said he was not allowed to touch any chemical compound till the end of this year, including water!" She said with a chuckle, but Lucas just nodded like he seemed to be doing since they had met. "And then, the pink elephants flew through the windows and took Tim away," she concluded looking at him expectantly.

"Uh, yeah, interesting," Lucas tried to reply and Haley smacked him behind his head.

"Hey!" He protested, "What was that for?"

"You haven't listened to a word I said! What's wrong with you?" She questioned.

"Haven't you heard?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm. By now, apart from Brooke, Nathan had also questioned him on his fight with Peyton, after Brooke had informed him about it, and he also had urged him to go and talk to Peyton.

"Nathan told me you had a fight with Peyton, yesterday." Haley said with a shrug.

"Of course, he did."

"Look, you haven't been yourself for days. First, you fight with Nathan, now Peyton, and you just suddenly go disappearing for a whole day. This isn't you Luke; tell me what's wrong?"

Lucas heaved a sigh, "It's just…"

"And don't give me that crap you give Peyton about Dan, because I'm not buying it!"

"It's nothing, really," he denied.

"C'mon, Luke!"

"Look, I've gotta go and talk to Peyt, now. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Whatever," Haley said with frustration and the two of them finally reached the others' table.

They were met by some hi's and everyone shifted so they could sit. Peyton kept staring at her tray.

"Can we talk?" Lucas asked quietly before sitting down and Peyton nodded getting up and following him to an empty table a few tables afar.

"You really caught me at a bad time yesterday, Pey." Lucas started looking at her sadly.

"Brooke told me you had been fighting with Dan."

"Yeah, I had just got home and Dan started yelling at me. And as soon as I got away from him, you called, and… I know I shouldn't have snapped at you, but I was just too upset at the time."

"I shouldn't have gone off at you as soon as you picked up either, but I was just very worried about you. And then when I thought you didn't intend to return my calls…" Peyton trailed off.

"I was going to call you; I just didn't have the time to. Dan caught me just as I walked in!"

"I know, but still…Is there anything else Lucas? I mean do you think I'm really making you spend every single moment with me? Do you feel pressured by me? Is there something you need me to do? If you feel that way, do you maybe need some space or something?" She chocked out barely keeping her tears in.

Lucas sighed and stole a glance at the table the rest of the gang was sitting at. He caught a glance of Nathan tickling Brooke and her squealing in delight. He quickly turned to Peyton with an apologetic smile.

"I told you I didn't mean what I said yesterday. Can we just forget it, Peyton? Let's just say we caught each other in the worst time possible…"

"Okay, if you're sure," she hesitated.

"I am," he said offering her a reassuring smile and standing up he pulled her up with him into a hug and kissed the top of her head sweetly. They headed back to the table with the others and resumed their seats, Lucas sitting next to Peyton.

"You guys cool?" Nathan asked getting kicked under the table by both Brooke and Haley. Nathan yelped and everybody started laughing. Not that Brooke wasn't looking curiously at Peyton and Haley wasn't doing the exact same thing with Lucas.

"We're fine," Lucas said with a small smile towards his brother and everybody resumed their eating. Brooke tried to give him a look, a smile, something, but he avoided her and the only conversations he participated in were the ones with Jake and Nathan about the upcoming game on Friday.

* * *

And that was how the rest of the week seemed to roll by. All three boys were constantly talking about the season's first game. Whitey was driving them crazy, even the cheerleaders had to admit that it was no wonder they could think of nothing else, the way Whitey bellowed at practices was enough to drive anyone insane. The two Scott brothers had the additional pleasure of having to deal with their father that had to make sure they would make the best impression and give their perfect game this time. All three boys were busy with practices and homework leaving no free time to spend with their respective girlfriends. Jake dealt with it. Nathan kept moaning and groaning and whining, driving the rest of them further into insanity along with Whitey's yelling. Lucas on the other hand, was just immensely grateful. 

The _neglected_ girlfriends dealt in their own way. Haley found more time for her tutoring, though since most of her tutees were on the basketball team, she just over-applied herself with the other jocks. Peyton fell into one of her moods, she was hoping that her and Lucas were going to work things out, but with him being constantly unavailable their fight still lingered in her thoughts making her angsty and sad. Brooke, finally, was as busy as the boys trying to perfect the cheer routine she had proposed with the rest of the cheerleaders, trying to push Rachel on the side. As for not spending time with Nathan, she didn't have much time to dwell on that. She did however have the time to notice that Lucas seemed to be avoiding her. Which was exactly what she had been hoping for. But now that it was actually happening, it was bothering her to no end.

* * *

It was Thursday now, one day before the big game and Brooke was trying to get through her English lit class too anxious about the last practice they had scheduled for today. Sitting almost at the other end of the classroom Lucas seemed as anxious about his own practice. To be honest, she was concerned about him. The few times she had talked to Nathan she saw how stressed out he was and she could only guess that Lucas must have been feeling the same if not worse. She wanted to go to him, talk to him, encourage him…She even tried yesterday after practice but he quickly fled the gym mumbling something about Tim waiting to get a ride from him. Even she hadn't used such pathetic excuses when she was trying to avoid him a week back! Funny how it feels when the tables are turned, huh? She didn't even remember when the last time she actually saw him smile was, it must have been last Tuesday when she saw him talking with Haley outside of the library. She had never envied someone as much as she had Haley at that time. When the two had seen her, Haley had waved at her faking a smile while Lucas' smile just vanished from his face and then he retreated to the library, which Brooke was avoiding after the Monday incident. 

"Go ahead, Miss Davis, take a pick," her old professor said snapping her out of her thoughts while offering her his outstretched hand that was holding a paper box filled with little paper bits neatly folded.

"Huh?" Brooke mumbled confused but anyway put her hand and took out a piece of paper, deciding that most probably the teacher had already explained the purpose of this improvised lottery drawing and she had somehow missed it, thinking about Lucas as usual.

After stopping getting help from him for this class and since she couldn't possibly pay any attention when he was around, she had put herself in quite some trouble with her professor, she couldn't afford anything else. The professor kept standing over her head and after receiving a nudge from Bevin who was sitting beside her, Brooke started unfolding the paper and stared even more confused to the one word scribbled on it. She looked up at her professor confused but as he was looking at her expectantly she assumed she was supposed to actually read the word.

"Love," she pronounced.

"Very good." The professor nodded and moved along to the student behind her. Apparently his word was friendship, and the next word read was loneliness…and Brooke thought it was about time she figured out what was happening.

"Bev?" She quietly asked her friend.

"Your project theme, it's love, God, you're so lucky! I got betrayal!"

"Project? What project?" Brooke asked horrified.

"Weren't you listening? We were just assigned a new project…you and your partner will have to find a book displaying the main theme your word has… and then we will get further instructions or something like that…I think."

"Great…" Brooke groaned and then seemed to lighten up again, "Wait, you said my partner?"

Before Bevin had time to explain again the professor moved to the front desk taking another box from the top. "Okay, and now the rest of you are going to pick your partners, and remember the partners you get are not negotiable!"

"This side of the class picked the topics and that one…" Bevin explained pointing to the side were Lucas was sitting, "is going to draw for partners."

Lucas being the model student he was, he was sitting at the second row and before Brooke had time to process the possibility he heard his voice announce to the class, "Brooke Davis."

_Just absolutely frigging great!_

* * *

The rest of the class proceeded uneventfully. Bevin had said to Brooke about a hundred times how lucky she was to get Lucas, since he was so damn good in English, while she was stuck with Dim. Of course Brooke didn't feel all that lucky. Lucas hadn't even spared her a glance when announcing her name. Obviously he wasn't all too thrilled either. Maybe he was as frustrated as Bevin, that he got stuck with an idiot like herself. Or maybe he just couldn't stand the sight of her; the last few days certainly seemed to point to that. Anyway, as she had started paying attention after the pairs announcement, she was quite frustrated to discover that this project would carry them through the entire semester, with small assignments regarding their theme that were to be delivered every week. _Great._ The project would take up forty percent of their grade. _Even greater!_ She couldn't afford to screw this up. And their theme… love. Now she would have to wonder what she had done to deserve this, or why God hated her this much, but unfortunately she knew she had done plenty to deserve it. So she couldn't even complain; it was karma biting her at the ass. Brooke eyed her professor; he had said partners were not negotiable. She was sure she could work her magic on him though. She was Brooke freaking Davis! All men were putty in her hands. But requesting a change of partner would raise suspicions, why wouldn't anyone like to be partnered up with one of the best students in the class? And it was not like anyone was supposed to know that she and Lucas didn't get along, what would she say to Peyton if she learned about that? Still, spending the entire semester working with him was not an option, maybe she should risk it, try something like she had had her heart set on working with someone else. That Gigi girl was quite good at literature. And there was always Mouth, he was good at anything. Or she could ask for Bevin, she was her girl pal after all. Brooke let out a sigh and took a glance around the class. Rachel was smirking at her. What the hell was on her mind? She could read that look; Rachel had something up her sleeve. But what could that possibly be? Rachel was paired up with Theresa, the two didn't really get along, and that would be an interesting pair as well. 

The bell signaled the end of the class and the students walked to the teacher's desk to get the list with the books they were supposed to choose from to work for their project. Lucas got theirs and moved towards Brooke.

Brooke looked up at him still sitting at her desk.

"Here," Lucas said handing her a copy of their list.

"Thanks."

"I can't work on this before the weekend, so let's start by limiting our choices. If you have any preferences mark them on your list and I will mark mine. If we are lucky enough we should mark at least one in common."

"Okay."

"Look, I now you don't want to be my partner and if you think you can get Thompson to change us, it will be fine with me."

"Lucas, I…" Brooke started but she was interrupted by the worst person ever.

"If Brooke doesn't want to be with you, Lucas, I would be more than happy to take her place," Rachel said offering her widest smile to Lucas that looked at her surprised.

Brooke looked at Rachel with her mouth open as the redhead leaned closer to Lucas and continued in a sweet voice, "I'm not very good at this and I could use some help," laying her hand on his shoulder she went on suggestively, "and I've heard you are very very good at it…"

Brooke was seething. That bitch! First Nathan and now Lucas? What the hell?!

"Brooke?" Lucas asked turning to her. He was not interested in working with Rachel. To be honest, he wanted to work with Brooke, he wanted to spend time with her, he yearned for her. Avoiding her had been hell and this was the perfect opportunity to spend time with her without showing that he wanted to do it. Still, he could see her apparent anger at Rachel. He wanted to laugh; Brooke was actually bothered by what Rachel was doing! On that note, what the hell was Rachel doing? The two of them had never been close, heck they hadn't even been civil to each other even when Rachel was with Nathan. Lucas had never hid his feelings for her, and Rachel knew of his resentment and reciprocated. So what was happening now? But seeing Brooke fuming…yeah he would enjoy this for a while.

Brooke was taken aback. Lucas actually preferred to work with Rachel than her? Did he really hate her that much? A pained look crossed her face but she immediately hid it.

"Thompson said the partners are not negotiable," she hissed.

"I'm sure between you and me, we can convince the old man," Rachel said with a smirk.

"I know how convincing you can be Rach, but I have no interest in helping you out."

"Well then, I'm sure I can handle him on my own. How about it? We switch, I get Lucas and you get Theresa?" Rachel insisted.

"Partners are not negotiable!" Brooke barked and picking up her bag pushed Rachel out of the way and stormed out of the class.

Rachel snickered while Lucas followed Brooke with his eyes an awed expression on his face.

"So, what do you say, gorgeous?" Rachel said sweetly getting his attention again.

"Partners are not negotiable?" Lucas parroted with a smirk and a shrug and headed also for the exit feeling better than he had felt the entire week.

Rachel just laughed, when Felix tapped on her shoulder.

"Care to explain?" He asked with a perplexed look.

"What is there to explain?"

"What were you doing right now, hitting on Scott number two?" Felix asked agitated.

"Well…since your _brilliant_ plan brought the _amazing_ results we both know…" Rachel snapped sarcastically making Felix scoff, "I've decided to try a new angle…" She trailed off.

"Hitting on that loser?! What is it with him that's making all of you girls running after him? First my sister, then Peyton, Brooke and now even you?! "

"Puh-lease, I'm not interested in him. Not that he's too bad on the eyes," Rachel smiled licking her lips, "Anyway, since sitting around waiting didn't work and pushing them together only backfired…I thought I would try something else. The oldest trick in the book, something that is guaranteed to work."

"You want to make Brooke jealous!" Felix exclaimed in sudden realization.

Rachel smiled smugly.

"But Lucas is with Peyton!"

"So what?" Rachel said dismissively.

"I don't know if this is going to work Rachel…" He said still unconvinced.

"Well if it doesn't, at least I would have gotten myself some of that…" She paused tilting her head towards the way Lucas had left, "in the process. As I told you, Felix, not bad on the eyes, not bad at all," she concluded with a smirk.

* * *

Haley and Mouth were walking towards the library. 

"So, are you coming to the game tomorrow?" Mouth asked her.

"Sure, Lucas and Nathan would never forgive me if I missed it."

"Didn't you forget to add Jake in there?"

Haley smiled, "Jake is the one with sense from the three. He at least realizes it's just a game."

"Well, he doesn't have Dan Scott for a father…" Mouth trailed off.

"Exactly," Haley agreed grimly.

"Well, you can come sit with me and help me comment on the game," He offered with a smile.

"I'd love to come and sit with you, but as for helping with the commentary, now that's just funny!"

"Don't you feel left out sometimes?" Mouth asked her seriously.

"Left out? What do you mean? It's not like I could join the team!" She laughed.

Mouth laughed as well, "No, what I mean is all your guy friends are in the team, and both Peyton and Brooke are cheerleaders, heck even I'm doing the commentary! It's just that everyone seems to be involved somehow, except you."

"Trust me, Mouth, I do not want to be one of Rachel's minions that hops around like a damn energizer bunny shaking her pom-poms…and her ass around!"

Mouth burst into laughter again, "Speaking of Rachel, I've got to go find her," he said after sobering up.

"Rachel?" Haley splattered surprised, "Why?!"

"I've been helping her with her history assignment."

"Again, why?!" She said looking skeptical.

"Because she asked me to?" Mouth replied confused.

"But it's Rachel!"

"She's not as bad as you think," he defended.

"God, what's wrong with you people?! Mouth, she's a bitch! I know it and you know it! Hell, everybody knows it!" She didn't mean to lash out on poor Mouth like this, but first Brooke and her self-appointed horde of defenders and now even Rachel? What was wrong in this world?

"She's just misunderstood," He kept on, "She can be really sweet if you get to know her…" He trailed off with a dreamy smile on his lips.

"Oh, God!" Haley groaned, "Mouth, just…be careful, ok? Don't trust her; she's not a good person."

"Haley…" Mouth started to protest but then spotted Rachel with some of her cheerleader friends walking into the library. "Ok, I've gotta go now, we'll talk later?"

"Sure," Haley sighed and waved at him as he was already rushing after the girls. She had made about five steps when she remembered that she also had to get a book from the library, so she slowly walked back.

* * *

Mouth walked into the library and immediately spotted Rachel and her friends that were sitting around one of the tables talking excitedly about the latest episode of Heroes? What the hell was that? Well, apparently that Milo was really hot! Who was he again? He hesitantly approached their table; Rachel looked up for a second and then turned back at her discussion ignoring him. Mouth shifted uncomfortably at his feet and coughed to gain her attention, but it didn't really work. Taking a deep breath he tried again, "Rachel?" 

Some of the cheerleaders looked up at him with annoyance but Rachel didn't seem to notice him again. "Hey, Rachel, I'm sorry to interrupt but I thought…" he started quietly but Rachel interrupted him finally raising her head to look at him.

"Can't you see that I'm busy?" She snapped.

"Sorry," Mouth said looking truly sorry, "but I thought maybe we could talk about your assignment, I'm almost done and I thought that you want to…"

"I don't care, what you thought, I told you I'm busy. I don't have time for your nonsense."

Her groupies around her let out quiet snickers.

"But…" Mouth said looking hurt and confused with her tone. This was certainly a 180-degree turn from the time she had come to ask for his help.

"Listen, Lips or Mouth or how the hell else they call you, if I thought you were going to bother me so much with this assignment I would have asked one of the tutors to do it for me. So either hand me over the finished paper, or run along like the good little boy I know you are and stop wasting my time!"

"But I thought-I thought we were going to do this together!" Mouth stammered.

Rachel let out a loud laugh. "Trust me, Mouth, you and me? _We_ are not doing anything together, not even in your wildest dreams! Do you even have that kind of dreams?" She concluded mockingly making all the cheerleaders around her burst into laughter and Mouth look down turning crimson red and feeling extremely embarrassed.

Haley was standing behind some bookshelves and had heard the entire conversation. She felt her blood boiling. Rachel was a heartless bitch. Mouth should have known better, he should have listened to her! But nooo, just like Nathan with Brooke, he was too taken by her appearance. Well apparently looking like an angel didn't mean you actually acted like one. Anyway, Mouth was her friend and she wouldn't have anyone humiliate him like that. So she was about to walk there and bitch to Rachel when someone quite unexpected caught her to it.

"Well, certainly he doesn't have that kind of dreams involving sluts like you!" A hoarse voice Haley always seemed to think was extremely annoying stated icily.

"Now what kind of guy would fantasize about whores?" The same voice kept going, seeming deep in thought, "maybe Dim? Nah…even he has better taste! Why don't you try your luck with Felix? He's the only one I've seen around you lately!" Brooke concluded with a snicker earning some laughs from the other cheerleaders that have noticed their close friendship as well.

Haley scoffed, what a bunch of idiots, turning sides at every second!

Mouth was not saying a word, he still felt humiliated but here was now Brooke Davis, the girl he had a crush on since …for ever, taking his side and sticking up for him against her cheerleader friends.

"Brooke, don't mess with me!" Rachel warned getting up from her chair.

"Or you'll what? Send Felix to flirt me to death? Even he prefers me from you! So why don't you just not mess with me or my friends again Rachel, because trust me, you're going to regret it!"

"What is this Brooke, your new charity case?" Rachel said with a snicker, "Always following after mommy's footsteps, how noble of you."

Brooke tensed but didn't let it show.

"Yeah, Brooke, don't bother," Kathy chimed in, "He's just a geek loser! It's not worth it!"

"He is my friend." She said emphatically offering a smile to Mouth, "Not that I expect you to understand the concept." She continued turning her attention back to Rachel that just glared at her. "C'mon Mouth," she prompted interlacing her arm with his, "Kathy is right, it's totally not worth it," she finished fake smiling at Rachel and turning around dragged Mouth along with her but she paused at the doorway and turned back at her, "Oh and, Rach, if I were you, I would start working on that history assignment right about now, if I remember correctly it is due tomorrow and we know how Mrs. Atkins feels about delays. Too bad she's not one of the male professors, at least then your only talent could be proved useful, but I don't think she would enjoy a blow job, even given by a pro!"

"That bitch!" Haley heard Rachel hiss, while the rest of the cheerleaders were trying to stifle their laughter and giving her sympathetic words while doing so.

"Shut up!" Rachel yelled again and stormed out of the library as well, leaving her 'friends' laughing behind her and awing after Brooke. Haley felt sick to her stomach listening to most of them talking about how Brooke was actually right and Rachel shouldn't have used Mouth like that but of course they hadn't said anything when Rachel was around. And then they said something about Brooke's sweater which was so smoking hot! Speaking of hot, they of course got back to Milo.

Haley quietly made her way out of the library feeling extremely confused. Had Peyton, Nathan and Lucas been right all along? Was she just a judgmental bitch?

* * *

The rest of the classes flew by and Haley was now headed towards the parking lot to catch a ride with a friend of hers from the tutoring center since the rest of the gang would have to stay after school for basketball and cheerleading practice. She had been thinking about Brooke the entire day after the whole library incident. It sucked to be on the wrong, but Haley had to admit, she might have been just a tincy bit harsh with her judgment on the bubbly brunette. The way she stack up for Mouth against the other cheerleaders and their captain no less, seemed to prove that she actually cared for her friends. Wasn't that what Peyton tried to tell her over a thousand times and she had just turned a deaf ear to her? And for Brooke to claim Mouth as one of her friends, a guy that was certainly not in the row to win any popularity contests anytime soon…Haley hated this but…she just might have been wrong. 

She spotted Brooke setting her books into her locker and getting her cheerleading gear out and bracing herself she approached. She wished to God Brooke was going to make this easier for her, but knowing Brooke, albeit, the little she obviously knew her; there was no chance this was going to happen.

"Hey, Brooke," she said with a smile.

"Tutor-girl?" Brooke asked turning to her confused. "What are you still doing her?"

"I'm waiting for one of my friends from the tutoring center to give me a ride, since all of you have practice."

"Right," Brooke nodded and turned back to her locker.

"Urm, can we talk for a minute?" She asked hesitantly.

Brooke seemed confused. _What now? _She thought with dread raking her brains to find what she could have possibly done to attract Haley's attention. Nothing came to mind, but Haley and Brooke never, and that was literally a never, spoke alone without the rest of the gang around. After the failed attempt on Saturday before the beach party, they were back to the informal packed they had reached through Lucas' intervention. Act civilly around each other when Peyton or Nathan were around and ignore each other at all other times.

"Sure," she said anyway, being too curious to decline.

"I was at the library today," Haley started deciding that Brooke would need a full explanation and wouldn't buy just a sudden change of heart.

"Okay…?" Brooke said not understanding.

"I heard you talking to Rachel," Brooke was still looking at her confused and Haley elaborated, "I heard you sticking up for Mouth."

"And?" Brooke prodded still not understanding.

Haley sighed, "I guess I wanted to say…" She paused, "It was very nice of you," she concluded sighing again. Hadn't she said the exact same thing about a week ago? God, this was hard!

Brooke shrugged, "Rachel was being her usual bitchy self and I thought she needed someone to tell her off."

"Yeah, and you sure as hell put her to her place!" Haley said with a chuckle.

Brooke giggled, "What can I say? Nothing makes my day better than one upping that slut!"

Haley laughed for a second but then turned serious again, "It was more than that though, what you did meant a lot to Mouth," Brooke seemed ready to object but Haley went on, "and it was not just Rachel there, you went against the rest of the girls, your friends!"

Brooke laughed, "They're not my friends, tutor-girl. They're just groupies; I'm sure when they saw I beat Rachel at her game they were singing my praises after she left."

Haley seemed surprised.

"Am I right?" Brooke insisted.

"Well, you certainly know them well."

"Of course I do. I have to deal with them everyday!"

"You…" Haley shook her head, "You're so confusing!" She exclaimed.

Brooke raised an eyebrow in question.

"You seem like one of them when one first sees you," she started explaining, "even worse than them, since you're one of the leaders."

Brooke just listened in silence.

"But sometimes, you do some things, though only on rare occasions, mind you!" She hurried to correct herself making Brooke laugh. "Anyway, you do some things and you make me think that I might…I might have been wrong."

A smile started slowly forming on Brooke's lips. A genuine smile this time though Haley could see her eyes twinkle in slight amusement, as she had expected Brooke was enjoying this. But…being in the wrong sucked so she guessed she just had to deal with it.

"What I'm trying to say…" Haley managed hesitating again.

"Aww! Is Tutor-girl gonna apologize for misjudging me?" Brooke said slightly mockingly but her sweet smile took the edge of her words.

"No!" Haley protested indignantly. "I have nothing to apologize for! I'm just saying that maybe I was too rushed in…"

"In?" Brooke prodded.

"Are you really gonna make me say it?!" Haley huffed.

Brooke laughed heartedly. "You're quite a girl Haley James!"

"I'm still not apologizing!" Haley insisted smiling genuinely to Brooke herself now.

"Good, because I don't want an apology. What do you say you ditch your geek tutor-friend and come hang with us at practice? You can see Jagielski sweat and squirm with Whitey yelling at him and if you're very lucky, you just might see me bitch out at Rachel again!"

"I'd say, lead the way, Tigger!"

"Tigger?!" Brooke shrieked in surprise with a wide grin and Haley shrugged in response.

"Aw, I think you might be Brooke Davis friend material after all, Tutor-girl!"

"Uh-huh! No, Tigger! You got it all wrong! I think you're the one that just might be Tutor-girl friend material, after all!"

Both girls dissolved into laughter and interlacing there arms together walked towards the gym. No need to say that the sight of the two of them walking in giggling and squealing together caused quite havoc. Jake tripped and landed hard on the floor; Nathan threw his ball instead of to an awaiting Tim, straight to the head of an unsuspecting Skillz sitting on the bench; Lucas almost slammed against the hoop remembering to stop his sprint just at the last moment, and Peyton dropped her pom-poms and rushed to them squealing in delight!

* * *

_**AN:**_

**cutiek88:** Thank you so much! This update must be even a bigger shock, lol! I'm with you on not liking too sweet guys. Guys need to be more…manly?…otherwise yikes…Sometimes even Naley brings that effect to me, that's why Brucas has always been my favorite.

**xBx:** You really think I keep them into character? I consider that a major compliment, so thank you!!! I don't think I'm too good with anyone, except Brooke, she's my favorite and always a pleasure to write!

**flipflopgal:** Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the Leyton, so did I!

**missdenmark:** Leyton is not fighting in this one… but don't worry, the sunny days are surely over for them!

**Brucas46Forever:** Nora! I was so happy to see you're still reading this! I thought my horrible update rate had made you forget this! I think you've captured my thoughts exactly. Naley happening now would be too perfect, so unfortunately Nathan will be hurt, but at least Haley will be there to console him, right?

**brucas333**: Well, I hope you liked the brucas in this, not that much… but soon more to follow!

**BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE:** Thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you're enjoying this!

**broodyprettygirl:** Thank you Lindsay! This is the only type of Leyton I can stomach! I would love to make him just dump her…but where would be the fun in that?

**OTHbrucas4ever:** Thanks Trish! Well, there is some BL in here at least! I hope that is some compensation! And yes…I wanted him to go to her as well…soooo bad!

**catcat51092: **There is some brucas in here, I hope it keeps you satisfied until the next.

**p0line: **Yeah, my Nathan turned out too good for his own good. But I want my Brucas, so unfortunately he's going to be hurt. But there is some Brathan left until that comes!

**BrucasCheerCaptain: **Hey! Thank you! And thank you for taking a look at my other story! You know you're one of my favorite reviewers, your reviews always make me so happy! So I was thrilled to see you liked the other fic as well! Yeah, Lucas should have gone in… or Brooke should come out, but it seems like I like to torture them a bit! lol

**MrsAmyScott: **I'm glad you liked the Naley bits, and subtlety was exactly what I was aiming for, so your comment made me so happy! Also, you made a very good point in one of your other reviews about my delays forcing all of you to reread some parts. I haven't thought about that and I understand how much of a trouble it could be, so I will make a sincere effort to improve on that department.

**SumCoop: **Hey Noor!As usual your comments blow me away! Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying other aspects of this story like the Naley and the relationship between Lucas and Nathan. Of course Brucas is my main focus, but I'd like to know you don't find all the other parts just boring fillers! So thank you!

**Linkie: **Hey! I was so happy to see that you're still reading this! I've missed your reviews! But when laziness is concerned, I completely sympathize! lol About the Leyton fight…I totally get you! It was so fun… and I plan to let out my frustrations even more in the future, especially as far as Peyton is concerned!

**Brucas-Sara-Brucas: **Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Yeah, that chapter exactly like you said was about the beginning of the making of Naley and the end of Leyton…just be a little more patient! As for Brucas…yeah, I'm afraid you'll have to wait just a tiny bit longer, but in the mean time we can have some good Brucas moments.

**Brucas True Love****, Brucas2006, dancefever0234,** **rockstarsister, princetongirl, drownyourfears,** **XxBrucas4everXx: **Thank you for your kind words, sorry for the long delay!

Again thanks to everybody! You're all wonderful!


	24. Second Best

_**AN:**_ So much for my new year's resolution, but to my defense, this chapter was quite difficult to write, with all the basketball things…urm… I hope the end result doesn't show how much I actually don't know about the game! But... sorry for the long wait!

I want to thank all of you for your comments! You were once again incredible! I'm happy you liked the Baley and I will make sure to progress their friendship even further in the future.

Now, I don't want to delay uploading more so I will skip the personal replies… but I want to respond to Noor (**SumCoop**). Okay, either you read my mind or I don't know what… Just know that I had this chapter planned out this way before your comments! I hope you're happy I granted one of your wishes immediately! lol

As for your other wish, more Brucas… (which everybody shares, including me!) well, all I can say is I'm pretty excited about the next chapter and I think you'll like it too. And some of your suggestions were !!!! so maybe I will use them in the future, heh!

As usual, a big thanks to both my betas Chinthana and Denise, they are amazing and very very fast in their work, unlike me! Hehehehe

So on with the chapter, please read and review! I'd love to know what you think!

* * *

_**Chapter 24**_

_**Second Best**_

"The Tree Hill Ravens Cheerleaders, ladies and gentlemen!" Mouth exclaimed into his microphone just as the cheerleaders finished their opening routine and the crowd erupted into thundering applause.

The girls rushed off the court and took their place at the sidelines waiting for their team's entrance, while Mouth announced the entrance of their opponent, the Tar Heel Lions, whom as Nathan had assured Brooke countless of times, not that she'd asked even once, were no match for them.

Brooke took another apprehensive look around her as she had done since they first entered the court. "Wow, this place is certainly packed!" She whispered nudging Peyton that stood at her left while Bevin was standing at her right.

"It was always like that, Brooke," Peyton answered with a smile. "Have you forgotten?"

"I guess… in LA, they never made such a big deal out of just a high school game…" She trailed off.

"Well, you're in Tree Hill now. This town lives for basketball!"

"And now… get ready to welcome our team, the team that made it to the semi-finals last year, and we hope to see in the finals this year! Give it up everybody for our very own Tree Hill Ravens!" Mouth shouted with eagerness as the entire gym got to their feet whistling and cheering.

The girls also started jumping up and down, waving their pom-poms enthusiastically.

"Our team's power forward, with number 7, Jake Jagielski!" Mouth hollered as Jake run into the court amidst loud cheers and Brooke could make out Haley jumping up and down next to Mouth almost shoving him to the ground. "Point guard, with number 14, Antoine Taylor!" He continued as soon as he regained his balance.

"Antoine, who?" Brooke asked Peyton, perplexed. She was sure she knew the entire basketball team, since their practices usually coincided, but she had never heard of that name before.

"Go, Skillz!" Bevin shrieked giving Brooke her answer as the boy followed behind Jake to take his position in the middle of the court.

"At the position of small forward, with number 9, Tim Smith!" Mouth continued his announcement as Tim ran to his position as well not before winking at the general direction of the cheerleaders earning a few groans from them.

"And now, with number 3, shooting guard and co-captain of the team, second leading scorer for last season with a point average of 22, give it up for Lucas Scott!"

The clapping got louder and the whistling and yelling intensified as Lucas made his appearance through the gym doors. Brooke bit her lip to keep her mouth shut, while she heard Peyton hollering his name and much to her dismay, she heard Rachel cheering for him as well. Even Anna was bouncing way more enthusiastically than before and Brooke couldn't refrain from grunting a "Puh-lease," in both the girls' direction accompanied by the necessary evil glares. Peyton didn't seem to notice however as she kept her focus on her boyfriend that was now smiling to her.

Brooke had to admit he looked really really hot with his spiked blond hair and the blue uniform that made his ice-blue eyes stand out even more. She caught his eyes as he turned to smile to Peyton, and he quickly averted his gaze to the crowd. He could not look at her in that damn uniform. Tonight had to be all about the game and not about the brunette cheerleader that didn't seem willing to leave his head from the moment he met her. Spotting his father's solemn face among the crowd, he could only repeat to himself that tonight had to be all about the game. Lucas reached his other team-mates standing in line at the center of the court and after high-fiving everyone, took his place at the end of the line. Brooke kept staring at him wishing no one would recognize the longing in her eyes, which she felt was more than evident, when Mouth's voice brought her out of her reverie.

"And finally, with number 23, our team's center and co-captain, MVP of last season with a point average of 23, ladies and gentlemen, continuing the Scott legacy, Naaathan Scooott!!!"

The gym shuddered in excitement at Nathan's announcement.

"Go, Nate!" Brooke shrieked in excitement as her boy appeared through the locker doors and heard Rachel shriek for the second time at the appearance of a Scott boy. God, she really wanted to kill that skank.

Though the gym was packed and everyone was shouting his brother's name, Lucas could swear he made out her voice; he had heard her loud and clear. Jealousy overtook him once more. She hadn't cheered for him, just for his brother. He also looked at his father. He was looking very damn proud; nothing like the sour look he had when he appeared on the court. Well, once again Nathan was everybody's pride and joy. So what else was new? His father, the girl he…well, that one girl, everybody cheered for his brother. He always came second best. Wasn't that how even his buddy Mouth had introduced him? Second leading scorer… second. Nothing more, never good enough to come first.

Nathan ran into the gym smiling and winked at Brooke before reaching his team-mates and after repeating the same greeting his brother had, took his position next to him. Lucas shook these thoughts out of his head. Nathan was his brother and he didn't resent him, he just wished for once he could come first… And the feeling became more and more prominent every time he'd see her.

"And the man responsible for this team, the man that gives us hope again after many years for the state championship, ladies and gentlemen, our Coach, Whitey Durham!" Mouth concluded the team's presentation as the spotlight moved to the bench where Whitey was standing smiling to the crowd.

The two teams' players exchanged handshakes and resumed their positions for the jump ball. Nathan against a particular big guy from the other team. The referee blew his whistle; Nathan jumped a lot higher than the heavy opponent and tipped the ball which ended up in Lucas' hands. Avoiding the player that was guarding him, he passed to Skillz, who proceeded slowly towards the opponents' basket while waiting for the rest of their team to assume their positions. He spotted Jake who was able to get rid of his opponent and passed the ball, Jake aimed and shot from the high post and the ball went in. "And the first two points by Jagielski for the Ravens!" Mouth exclaimed, while the whole gym cheered. And the game was on.

* * *

The girls were standing behind their team's basket having the opportunity to boo at every offense of their opponents. Nathan had been right; that team was no match for the Ravens and soon after the first few minutes that the cheerleaders actually paid attention to the game they started talking among themselves only stopping occasionally to cheer for the points their team scored. 

"Our boys sure look hot, tonight!" Bevin exclaimed.

"_Our_ boys?" Brooke asked raising an eyebrow.

"Your Scotts and my man Skillz!" Bevin explained pointing with her head to Brooke and Peyton.

"Your man?" Peyton asked intrigued.

"Well…not quite there yet, but erm…why you think he doesn't like me?!" Bevin asked in panic.

"Yay!" Brooke jumped up and down for another basket that Nathan scored effortlessly. "You like Skillz?" She asked then turning to Bevin with interest.

"Look at him!" Was all Bevin could offer as she stared at the sweaty boy that was running to the other side of the court trying to obscure his opponent's movements.

Brooke and Peyton laughed at her expression.

"What? He's hot!" Bevin insisted. "Noooo!" She then yelled as the opponents scored a three-pointer.

"We're still wining, right?" Brooke asked looking at the score board briefly and after being assured that they still had a secure lead, she returned to the more interesting subject. "So about Skillz…" She continued towards Bevin.

"Well, I've made it more than obvious that I like him… but urm…I don't know, he doesn't seem to want to make a move." Bevin said with disappointment.

"Maybe he's shy?" Brooke asked skeptically, "Damn!" She exclaimed as Tim missed a shot.

"Or he doesn't like me…" Bevin muttered.

"No way!" Brooke exclaimed, "But we could always ask around…"

"Really?"

"Sure, maybe I can ask Nate…"

"He wouldn't know, they don't talk that much, but Lucas might! Peyton?" Bevin asked hopefully.

"Oh, no! I'm not doing that! And Lucas wouldn't tell me anyway!"

"Of course, he would, you could talk him into it…" Brooke suggested.

"No way am I getting into this! But if you want to do it then go right ahead!" Peyton offered.

"Wh-what? No, I meant you! Me and Lucas… I mean we're not… I can't…" Brooke stuttered nervously.

"Oh, c'mon Davis, you can talk your way around anything! I'm sure you can work on Luke!"

"But…"

"Please?" Bevin pleaded.

"Would you stop gossiping and pay attention to the game? There's a timeout, we're here to cheer not work on your pathetic love lives!" Rachel barked interrupting the girls' discussion. God, Brooke really did hate that skank!

* * *

The timeout ended and the teams resumed their places in the court. Brooke was looking aimlessly around, when she spotted a tall well-built man, rather attractive for his age, she had to admit, standing behind the bench and talking, or better yet yelling as she could notice to Whitey. Whitey yelled something back and then turned his back to the man ending their conversation abruptly, looking rather flustered. The other man only smirked, and Brooke could swear she had seen that face before, it just seemed so familiar. She kept staring at him, as he retreated to an empty seat on the bleachers next to an attractive blonde woman that also looked rather upset. 

"Hey, Pey," She nudged her friend again, "Who's that?" She asked pointing with her head to the man just before he took his seat.

"Who?" Peyton questioned searching with her eyes in the direction Brooke was pointing.

"That hottie, the one sitting next to that blonde, the slutty one with the ridiculously low cut red shirt, seriously she's supposed to be here for her kid or something, poor kid!" Brooke explained with a disgusted face.

Peyton searched some more and when her eyes landed upon the pair in question burst out laughing.

"Oh, Brooke! You're too much! That my friend is-" She started but stopped so they could cheer for a three-pointer Lucas scored.

"Who?" Brooke asked again in confusion as soon as they stopped jumping.

"That _hottie_… is Dan, Dan Scott!" Peyton replied with an amused face.

"Luke's dad?" Brooke asked in shock.

"And Nate's."

"Right, of course, and Nate's." Brooke shook her head. "Eww!" She shrieked receiving a glare from Rachel, just as she realized she had called her boyfriend's father a hottie. That's why his face looked so familiar and that smirk… a Scott trademark apparently.

"As I said…you're too much! Nooo! That wasn't a foul!" Peyton protested at a foul the referee gave to Jake.

"Nate looks a lot like him," Brooke observed as she looked at the man more carefully. He had dark hair like Nathan, the smirk still on his face, as both brothers and his eyes, yup, blue piercing eyes like both of them. But he looked a lot more like Nate than Lucas. Lucas had a different, kinder quality on his features, probably something he got from his mother. Well, when Luke smirked he did bare some resemblance, of course. While Nate was all Dan, nothing like his mother, his mother?! "Wait…does that mean the blonde is… double ewww!" Brooke shrieked ignoring Rachel scoffing at her for the second time.

"Yeap, that's Deb." Peyton affirmed still smiling in amusement.

"I just called their dad a hottie and their mom, or step-mom whatever, a slut…great!" Brooke groaned.

Peyton was still laughing. "Among all the people here, only you could spot Dan Scott himself." She continued shaking her head.

"I didn't," Brooke replied and Peyton looked at her in question. "I saw him talking to Coach, well they were more like yelling at each other."

"Crap! He started already?!"

"Started wh-" Brooke questioned just as Nathan stole the ball from his opponent and racing to the basket slammed it down impressively.

"Yay! Nathan!" All the cheerleaders screeched.

* * *

Brooke glanced at the time on the board. Only two minutes to the half-time and she was starting to get nervous. They were supposed to perform her routine then and she just hoped for once everything would go her way. Not that the night was going that bad so far, only kind of. Anyway, if she still hoped to take the squad from Rachel this performance had to go well. No, not just well, perfect. Peyton seemed to notice her nervousness and simply smiled at her reassuringly. Brooke turned her attention back to the game. 

By now the Ravens were leading with 15 points. From the starting five only Jake and Tim were still on the court, while the others were replaced to take a breather. So now it was safe for her to actually pay attention to the game again. Only, it wasn't that interesting anymore since he wasn't playing. Okay, so the game wasn't that interesting to begin with. By now even Rachel had stopped spazzing and was talking with Heather and Anna, while occasionally waving her pom-poms. Now, normally Brooke would be the one to be having a fit over their lack of enthusiasm, but with the way she was acting before, she decided she had better keep her mouth shut for once and hold the lecture about the importance of being a cheerleader for another time. She had been hardly a model one so far.

It was not like she didn't want to watch the game. Just every time she did, her eyes were drawn to him. And not that that was such a bad thing how could it? She loved watching him play. He seemed so focused and determined and let's not forget, so incredible hot! But the more she was watching him, the more she realized how bad she wanted him, and that was bad, like really bad. So talking to Bevin about her apparent crush on Skillz, how come she hadn't noticed that by the way? Was she loosing her touch? Nah, it was just that she was too preoccupied with her own crush slash crushes. So, yeah, talking to Bevin or Peyton was way better than lusting over Broody. Of course, now that he was on the bench she had resumed her usual cheeriness. She could cheer for Jake. After all, since his girlfriend was not in the squad, he needed someone to cheer for him. She had also promised Tutor-girl that she'd do it. Yes, miracles do happen.

Since yesterday, she and Tutor-girl were actually getting along, actually much better than that. If you removed the stick of her ass, Tutor-girl could be quite fun. And smart. And Brooke really enjoyed her company. So when they had met before the game, Haley had actually asked Brooke to cheer for Jake when he complained that out of the three guys, he was the only one without a personal cheerleader. Of course, both she and Peyton had agreed enthusiastically. Now, a few days ago, Tutor-girl would probably pull her hair out if she had heard her cheering for her boyfriend. Well, things change. She sighed; she just hoped they wouldn't change back again, and the only reason that would happen was sitting at the bench, talking with Skillz pointing at some player of the other team. She suddenly saw him standing up along with the Skillz and the others. Shit, it was half-time.

* * *

The guys made it into the locker room and started clapping each other's back and praising each other. They were leading with 12 points and they were pretty proud of themselves. Obviously their coach didn't share their enthusiasm. 

"The fact that you're ahead by a few measly points, doesn't mean you get to drag yourselves around the court like a bunch of 80-year olds!" Whitey yelled at his team ruining their celebration. "The summer is over! No more slacking around! If you keep this up, you'll be all benched! Got it?"

Everybody nodded shamefully.

"My grand-ma, God rest her soul, ran faster than you Jagielski!" He turned addressing Jake, who hung his head down.

"Smith! Just because even you can aim better than 4, doesn't mean you can let him take shots unguarded!"

Tim seemed deep in thought trying to figure out what he's coach had just said.

"Just guard him more closely, man," Nathan explained the gist of it and Tim nodded in understanding.

Letting out a sigh Whitey turned to Skillz, "Skillz, you need to return faster, their defense always manages to get into position before you!"

Skillz nodded reluctantly.

"Scott!" Two heads shot up instantly. "Blondie," Whitey specified, "You should trust your hand more, you attempted only three three-pointers, and two went in. Don't be afraid to take your shot. If it's yours then go for it. Skillz, you screen him." Skillz nodded again.

"Oh, and watch out for 16, I don't like his game." Lucas nodded as well. That guy was way too aggressive. "And for God's sake, _defense_, Scott!" Whitey finished in exasperation and Nathan smirked towards his brother.

"Don't look that smug, Scott Junior! The same goes for you!" Whitey said sternly whipping the smirk immediately from Nathan's face and placing one on Lucas' with his words.

"When Lucas is free, _you pass_!" He continued with his lecture. "Don't try to do everything by yourself, you can try and impress your girlfriend _off_ my court!"

The guys chuckled but Whitey's stern voice stopped them once more. "Am I clear?" He said turning to look at everybody. Everybody nodded in agreement, "Good, now let's go over some moves." He finished as he spread out his notepad and the boys gathered around him paying close attention.

* * *

"Good job, B. Davis!" Peyton said smiling as soon as the girls finished their routine and left the court. 

"You really think it was good?" Brooke asked unsure. She did think they did rather good, but that wasn't enough. Of course the entire gym did cheer their hearts out at the end, and all the girls seemed really happy with themselves, well besides Rachel, but that was the point.

"Of course! And you my friend were absolutely great!"

"I second that," a voice was heard from behind them.

"Tutor-girl!" Brooke exclaimed with a broad smile.

"Hey, Hales, decided to join the dark side?" Peyton joked.

Haley laughed shaking her head. "Trust me; I'm so clumsy you wouldn't want me to! Besides, can you imagine _me_ in that uniform?"

"God, no! Our eyes!" Rachel piped in.

"Shut up, Rach!" Brooke snapped at her.

Rachel just smirked and turned her attention back to her friends.

"So what are you doing here, Tutor-girl?"

"Mouth was getting into some statistics and stuff," Haley said with a face showing exactly how boring she considered all that, "and I thought it was a good time to come say hi, and tell you and the guys how well you're doing."

"In other words, you came down here to see Jagielski?" Brooke said teasingly.

Haley stuck her tongue out and all three girls laughed. Just then the teams re-entered the gym to start warming up. Whitey gave them some instructions and grabbing some balls they all headed to the basket where the cheerleaders stood behind and started shooting some hoops.

"Hey, Lucas, great game," Rachel said making him look at her surprised.

"Thanks," he answered anyway before taking another shot.

"We're all counting on you this year," she continued with her sweetest smile.

Lucas stopped grabbing the ball and just looked at her. From the corner of his eye he could see Haley, Brooke and Peyton looking their way. Peyton looked confused just like he did, Haley looked even more surprised and Brooke looked pissed.

"What's up man?" Nathan asked as he stood by his brother noticing that Whitey was already looking too towards them and he wasn't looking exactly happy.

"Nothing," Lucas replied shaking his head.

"I was just congratulating Lucas for his game, Nate." Rachel told him.

"Right," Nathan responded, "C'mon, Luke, Whitey doesn't look happy."

Lucas nodded and turned around, "Good luck at the second half, Luke!" Rachel exclaimed using the name Nathan had just used for his brother.

"What's her deal?" Nathan asked Lucas as they got a little further and he passed him the ball so he could take a shot.

"I have no idea! She's been acting weird since yesterday. She's all smiles and sweet talk…" Lucas said shaking his head.

"That is weird."

"You know her, what do you think she wants?"

"You?" Nathan replied simply.

Lucas snorted, "Get real, bro!"

"Look, whatever she wants, it can't be good, so be careful." Nathan said seriously.

Lucas nodded and looked at Rachel that was now yelling at some poor girl in the squad. Could she…? Nah.

* * *

"What the hell does she think she's doing?!" Brooke exclaimed. 

"I'm guessing since Nathan isn't giving her the time of day anymore, she decided to try her luck with Lucas," Peyton said with a scoff.

"She's such a slut!" Haley agreed with them.

Peyton shrugged, "What can we do?"

"Doesn't it bother you?!" Brooke asked in shock.

"Heck, no! She can try all she wants. There's no way Lucas would ever be interested in a skank like her. Plus, I know for a fact he hates her. You weren't here to see how the two of them acted back when she was with Nathan."

"Yeah, Lucas really hates her." Haley nodded in agreement but couldn't help but look curiously at Brooke. She seemed way more bothered by this than Peyton was, and Peyton was Lucas' girlfriend. She tried to dismiss her suspicions. She was just jumping to conclusions as usual. Brooke just hated Rachel, everyone could see that. And as she had found out just yesterday she was really protective of her friends, and Peyton was her best friend. So Haley thought that she wasn't going to make the same mistake with Brooke again, she was not going to judge her again without proper cause.

Brooke heard them both assure her that Lucas hated Rachel. Well, he didn't seem to hate her that much when he seemed to prefer her as a partner at their project rather than Brooke. And all that crap about him not going for her type, well he had taken a liking to her and Brooke had to admit to herself at least, that she and Rachel weren't that different. Argh, did she mention how much she really really hated Rachel?

* * *

The guys were almost done with the warm up, when Nathan dragging Lucas and Jake with him, managed to steal a few seconds, as Whitey was busy talking with some friend of his so they could say some words with their respective girlfriends. 

"You're doing great, Hotshot." Brooke said with a smile as Nathan slipped an arm around her waist and placed a chased kiss on the top of her head. "You too guys," she said turning to Jake and Lucas that were standing beside their girlfriends. Jake also had his arm around Haley, but Lucas kept a little distance just holding Peyton's hand while he kept glancing at the bleachers. Yep, their dad had fixed a cold stare on them. Brooke followed his eyes and guessed where he was looking. A frown appeared on her face but she recovered immediately and turned to Nathan that was now teasing Haley about her secret desire of becoming a Ravens cheerleader.

"In your dreams, Nate!" Haley replied.

"Jake's maybe…" Nathan teased her back.

Jake assumed an exaggerated dreamy expression. "Jake!" Haley scolded him shoving him playfully.

"Hey, if you want, I can lend you my uniform for a night, Tutor-girl!" Brooke joined in making Haley blush.

"You're so cute!" Jake said with a smile kissing her softly.

"Scotts! Jagielski!" Whitey bellowed, "Half-time is for practice not for frolicking with your girlfriends!"

"Frolicking?" Brooke whispered raising an eyebrow, "Seriously?" Everybody just laughed but the guys also removed their hands from their girlfriends taking off reluctantly.

"So get your heads out of your girlfriends' skirts and get your asses back here!" Whitey continued as he noticed the time it took them to take a single step.

"I'm wearing pants, Coach!" Haley joked and everybody could hardly contain their laughter once again.

"Cute, Miss James. Very cute. I'm sure your humor will be appreciated somewhere else, on the bleachers perhaps?" Whitey replied with a sarcastic smile, "Too bad I can't get rid of the rest of you!" He continued turning to Peyton and Brooke. Cheerleaders, they were supposed to lift the team's spirits, but these particular ones… always managed to distract his entire team! And the way his team was playing today, they certainly didn't need any more distractions. Turning his head from the cheerleaders to the bench where his players were gathering since the game was about to start he suppressed a groan. Pacing faster he reached the bench, "What do you want now, Danny?" He asked not hiding the irritation in his voice at the man leaning down from the bleachers and talking to his two star players that were listening, at least seeming deep in concentration.

"Hey, old man, I'm just trying to remind my boys what they are here for tonight, since you don't seem to be doing such a good job with it."

"Don't you dare tell me how to do my job, Scott!"

"I wouldn't have to if you did it. Are you getting soft in your old days, Coach?" Dan replied mockingly.

"Dad…" Nathan protested.

"No, Nathan! If your Coach, thinks it's okay for you to be wasting your time with the cheerleaders when you were supposed to be thinking about the game, then maybe he's the one that belongs at the sidelines!"

"Boys, go with the rest of the team, I want us to run over some tactics." Whitey said calmly ignoring Dan.

Lucas and Nathan seemed ready to follow his instructions but Dan's voice stopped them. "I'm not done!"

"Oh, yes you are, Danny boy!" Whitey insisted. "Boys, go."

Both of them seemed torn, but Lucas nodded towards his Coach and then turned to his father. "Okay Dad, we heard you. Nathan needs to get a better place in the racket and I need to get the ball more, done." He said summing up his father's 'advices' and turned to leave.

"We're good." Nathan also agreed and followed his brother.

"Get the hell away from here Dan! I will not have you messing with them in the middle of the game!" Whitey snapped as soon as the boys rejoined their teammates. Both of them kept stealing nervous glances back at their coach talking with their father.

"I'm their father!"

"And I'm their coach!"

"And a good one you are! Are you happy with their game? They're slacking off and you know it!"

"That's my problem!"

"They are my sons! I don't care what you do with the rest of those losers, but my boys have talent and I'm not gonna sit and watch you let them waste it!"

"Do not insult my team, Scott! And they might be your sons, but in here, they're MY players! As for their talent you're right, they're more talented than you ever were. It stings, doesn't it, Danny?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about old man. Just know I'm watching you!"

"Exactly, that's all you can do. Watch." Whitey said with a smirk and once again returned to his team leaving Dan obviously seething.

"Coach…" Nathan started with an apologetic expression.

"We're sorry." Lucas concluded hanging his head down.

"You should be!" Lucas and Nathan both looked at him in shock, this wasn't the first time Dan acted this way but their coach never blamed them. "And not because of how your father is a jerk, but because he was right! Your heads are not in the game! You think their team is easy and you're not trying enough!" He said the last part with a raised voice addressing the rest of his team as well. "Now, I want you to go back in there and play your best. Show them who the Ravens are! Got it?" Everybody nodded eagerly. The team gathered together joining hands in the center. "Go Ravens!" Nathan and Lucas yelled with everybody joining them and the boys hurried back in the court.

* * *

The second half the guys seemed to put more of an effort…for the first three and a half minutes at least. See, now they were supposed to play offense on the opposite racket, the one their cheerleaders stood behind. So Tim, well he was being Dim and kept turning to smile and wink at the girls. Skillz really wasn't paying attention to them, but it was hard to concentrate when Bevin kept yelling his name just as he was about to take a shot. Nathan, well he was doing better, but everybody could see how he kept stealing glances at Brooke. Jake was the only one that was really putting an honest effort. But he couldn't do everything on his own, now could he? As for Lucas… well, he actually did not look at the cheerleaders. In fact, he avoided it at all costs. As a result, he was more focused on avoiding looking at Brooke or trying to ignore her voice among the others, and less focused on his game. Needless to say, at the time out White called they didn't exactly get praised. 

It went on like that for a while. Despite their lack of concentration the game was going well for them and the other team was starting to get frustrated, pressing harder. Nathan had the ball and was ready to pass to Lucas that had managed to sneak under the opponent's basket. Just when he was ready to catch the ball his personal opponent who had guarded him hard since the beginning but was no match for his speed, placed his body in front of him. Lucas took a step at the side to avoid him catching the ball and just as he was about to jump and take the shot his opponent raised his arm and landed a hard blow on Lucas' face making him fall hard on the tartan, gliding away and stopping just before the cheerleaders feet.

"Lucas!" Brooke heard herself screaming as she took a step forward to where he was lying but stopped when she felt Peyton trying to move past her to get there as well. Clenching her fists, she let Peyton move before her and just followed.

Nathan had immediately lunged at the guy that elbowed his brother and Skillz was desperately trying to pull him off before he did any serious damage. The referee was blowing his whistle to no avail since everybody seemed to ignore him. Tim was bickering with some other guy on whether 16 elbowed Lucas on purpose or not. Whitey had jumped from the bench heading their way and Dan was already making his way down the bleachers as well, while Deb and Haley were standing stretching their eyes trying to make out what was going on. Jake had rushed to Lucas side and was bending above him. The rest of the cheerleaders were also in frenzy. Half of them were gathering around Lucas, while the other half was pleading with Nathan to leave that guy alone.

Lucas looked around him a little dazed and sat up letting out a groan.

"You okay, man?" Jake asked with concern.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Lucas nodded as Peyton pushed her way through and got next to him, with Brooke coming right behind her.

"You sure?" Peyton asked as well.

"Yeah," Lucas nodded reassuringly but Brooke gasped. "You're bleeding!"

Lucas looked at her curiously, and then run his hand over his eyebrow where he could feel the pain from the hit. "Shit," He muttered as he saw his bloody fingers.

"Coach," Jake yelled to Whitey who had stopped before reaching them to calm down Nathan, since everybody else's efforts seemed fruitless.

"Help me up, man." Lucas asked stretching his arm to Jake who grabbed him and pulled him up.

"Maybe you should just sit there for a while," Brooke mumbled nervously, "Are you feeling dizzy or something?"

"Yeah, Brooke is right." Peyton agreed worry etched all over her face.

"I'm fine, it's just a little cut." Lucas replied to Peyton and then gave a reassuring look to Brooke, "Really."

"Let me just see how little." Whitey said approaching with Nathan, Skillz and the referee right behind him.

Nathan came close as well, as Whitey placed both his hands firmly but gently on Lucas' head and turning it upwards examined his cut carefully.

"Does he need stitches?" Nathan asked.

"What? No! It's just a scratch!" Lucas protested trying to get out of Whitey's grasp.

Whitey released his head and nodded in agreement, "It doesn't look that bad, you're feeling alright, son?"

"I'm fine." Lucas assured once again starting to get irritated with all the fuss about him. By now both the teams and the entire cheerleading squad had gathered around him.

"Good, go to the bench to get cleaned up. Wade you take his place and Saunders you take Nathan's." Whitey instructed as the two guys nodded.

"But Coach, I'm fine!" Nathan protested.

"You attacked a guy, you're on the bench."

"But he hit Luke on purpose!"

"He's right. He definitely wanted to hit me." Lucas responded grimly scanning the crowd around him for the culprit that was nowhere in sight.

"And he's out of the game for that." The referee interjected, "Unless you want to join him, I suggest you do what your coach suggested." He concluded turning to Nathan. Luckily, Skillz had managed to restrain Nathan and he wasn't able to hit the guy, so the referee obviously decided to cut him some slack, as he wasn't impressed with the other one's actions as well.

"Now let's get back to the game," Whitey said once again and the crowd dissolved but after most of the opponent's team apologized to Lucas.

"C'mon, Scott." Whitey said to Lucas and he was ready to go when someone stopped him grabbing him from the arm.

"What the hell was this?!" Dan asked seeming furious.

Nathan frowned upon hearing his dad and Whitey let out an exasperated sigh, while Brooke and Peyton that had not left yet unlike the rest of the cheerleaders stood glued at their spot.

"I'm fine Dad, thanks for the concern." Lucas replied sarcastically.

Dan scoffed but continued nonetheless, "If you listened to me when I tell you to put some hours in the weight room you wouldn't get knocked down every time someone touches you!"

Brooke just watched the scene dumfounded.

"He elbowed him on purpose, dad!" Nathan objected.

"It's fine, man, I can handle it."

"Yeah, he can, he managed to get both of you on the bench!" Dan said glaring at Lucas.

"It wasn't his fault, I…"

"Forget it, Nate." Lucas sighed in defeat, "I'm sorry, Dad."

"You should be! I will not tolerate this again! From both of you!" And with that he left.

Nathan just shook his head, while Lucas turned to him, "C'mon, I need to get this cleaned up."

* * *

The game resumed its normal rhythm again. After a while Whitey deemed that Nathan had cooled off considerably and allowed him to rejoin the game. 

Brooke however was having a hard time with the scene she had just witnessed. "Is that asshole for real!?" She ranted to Peyton.

"That _hottie_, you mean?" Peyton replied mockingly.

"Argh! Don't remind me! My God, he's worse than my dad! How could he treat Lucas like that?!"

"Typical Dan."

"He didn't even ask if he was okay! Lucas was bleeding and he didn't even ask if he was alright!"

"I told you Brooke, Dan is…" Peyton hesitated and Brooke eagerly filled the void, "An evil bastard!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself!"

"He's just… God! How does Lucas put up with him?!"

"What can he do? He's his father."

"Really? He could have fooled me!"

* * *

A little while later, Lucas that had his cut taken care of and after he reassured his coach for the umpteenth time that he was feeling great also rejoined the game. 

Peyton looked a bit worried and Brooke turned to her reassuringly trying to convince herself as well, "C'mon, Blondie, Whitey wouldn't let him get back in if he thought he wasn't perfectly fine."

Peyton nodded a bit reluctantly. "I'm sure he insisted on playing."

"Well, he wouldn't do that if he was not feeling good. Would he?" Brooke asked back getting all worked up again.

"Lucas can be very stubborn." Was Peyton's not so comforting response.

"Tell me about it," Brooke muttered under her breath. She watched him deliberately for a few moments and felt somewhat reassured that he was okay. And then she turned her eyes on the bleachers spotting his father. Of course Lucas would insist to get back into the game, after what that asshole had told him no matter how he was feeling. Brooke would have done just the same thing in his place to show him that she could take it.

Lucas was now with the ball and trying to figure out his next move. Brooke glanced at his dad once again. She had been curious about him since Peyton told her who he was and she often observed him throughout the game. Even before Lucas' injury she hated the way he seemed to treat him. Whenever Nathan got the ball and attempted a shot he always stood up and beamed or yelled encouraging words, okay coupled with a frown and what she could only assume were muttered curses when he missed it. However, when Lucas got the ball, his father had an expression, like he was stoically getting ready to face the next screw up, and when Lucas actually made the shots he just averted his eyes indifferently. Looking at him right now the same old scenario was just replayed. Well, the hell with him!

"C'mon, Luke!" She heard herself yelling his name for the second time tonight without first really registering what she was doing.

Lucas blinked for a second. He couldn't have heard her could he? I mean there was so much yelling going on in there. And Peyton, who obviously got encouraged by Brooke, was cheering for him as well. Lucas aimed and let the ball fly from his hands. Nothing but net.

"Yes! Go Lucas!" Brooke screamed jumping up and down, watching as Nathan slapped him on the back and the guys started running to the other side of the court, but not before Lucas shot a glance at her, she could see the question in his eyes and she just smiled in response.

"Cheering for the wrong Scott, aren't we?" Rachel remarked from behind her back startling her.

"Screw you, Rachel."

But it wasn't Brooke who replied, it was Peyton. And Brooke of course felt like crap.

* * *

"I told Tutor-girl, she and Jake could ride with us to Tim's." Brooke told Peyton as they changed after the end of the game to head to Tim's for the after-game party. 

The Ravens had of course prevailed in the end, and everybody was very happy for the awesome start they made for the season. When Lucas got back in the game after his injury he played way better than before, and he and Nathan lead their team to an easy victory totally crushing their rival.

"So you and Lucas can ride with your car." She continued.

"Luke isn't coming, Brooke." Peyton said with a sigh, "Didn't I tell you he was grounded?"

"What?! You can't be serious!"

"You've met Dan, do you think he's one to bend the rules?"

"Don't even let me get started on what I think about him!" Brooke huffed.

"Well, I asked Lucas before the game if there was any way he could make it, and he said he wasn't even gonna try and ask him. After what happened before, I doubt he changed his mind. To be honest I don't think he even wants to come." Peyton admitted with another sigh, this whole week she had been thinking that her boyfriend actually took advantage of his punishment just to avoid her.

"Nah, he probably doesn't want to get into another confrontation with his dad. And how can you blame him?" Brooke defended.

"True that."

"But I'm sure Nate can convince him!" She exclaimed while her eyes glimmered in excitement. "In fact…" She said taking her cell out of her bag and pressing the number for Nathan's speed dial.

"Brooke, what are you doing?" Peyton questioned.

"Just hush!"

"What?!" Nathan asked in bewilderment from the other end of the line as soon as he picked up and heard Brooke apparently hushing him.

"No, not you silly!" She corrected turning to the phone. "Are you done with the shower?"

"Yup. Just got out." Nathan said as he was trying to pick his clothes with one hand, while trying to support the cell with the other. "Help, me out here, bro!" He turned to Lucas that was also getting dressed right beside him.

"Does that mean you're still in a towel?" Brooke asked raising an eyebrow.

"How much do you wish you were here right now?" He countered playfully.

"Damn!" Brooke replied.

"Any chance you're still in a towel yourself?" He asked and Lucas that was just getting out the jeans from his bag for him threw them at his face. "Watch it man!" Nathan exclaimed.

"What was that?" Brooke asked.

"Nothing, just Lucas pestering me. So about that towel?"

"Aw! Lucas is there! Goodie!"

"You want Lucas?" Nathan asked with confusion while Lucas' head almost snapped from the speed with which he turned it upon hearing the last phrase.

"Not exactly. I want you to talk to Lucas." Brooke explained.

"About what?"

"He just can't not come to the party!"

"He's not?" Nathan wondered, "You're not?" He asked again turning to Lucas.

"I'm not what?"

"Coming to the party…?"

"I'm grounded, remember?"

"That's bullshit!" Nathan exclaimed.

"That was what I thought!" Brooke agreed enthusiastically as she was listening to their conversation. "Tell him, Nate!" She insisted.

"C'mon, bro, you should come."

"It's not that I don't want to come, I told you I'm grounded." Lucas explained tiredly.

"It's an after game party and we won. I'm sure dad could be persuaded." Nathan suggested.

"Well, excuse me but I don't feel like asking, right now!"

"Luke…" Nathan said shaking his head.

"You can do it, can't you baby? You can talk to your dad!" Brooke decided to intervene.

"I guess…" Nathan said reluctantly.

"C'mon, Nate! Lucas deserves to celebrate his victory as well! And what about Peyton? Do you really want her to sit with us and whine the whole night?"

"I wouldn't whine!" Peyton objected.

"Yeah, she wouldn't whine. She would just brood!"

"Ok, ok, you convinced me. I'll see what I can do."

"Yay! Thank you! You're the best! And I'll be sure to reward you later on…"

"Wouldn't I get a reward anyway for my game?" Nathan asked with a whiny voice.

"Well, then I will make sure to make it extra special."

"Brooke…" Peyton groaned.

"How special?" Nathan continued making it really difficult for Lucas to pretend he wasn't bothered.

"Trust me, you'll like it."

"I can't wait."

"Ok, so get to work! First Lucas and then your dad!"

"I'm on it babe, meet us outside in ten?"

"Sure! See you then!" Brooke said flipping the cell shut and then turned to Peyton with a satisfied grin. "All settled. You can thank me later!"

"I hope it works, I really want to spend some time with Luke." Peyton replied seriously.

Brooke's heart sunk. She felt like kicking herself. What exactly had she just done? And most importantly why? Because…she couldn't agree with Peyton more. She too was dying to spend some time with him.

* * *

"Are you done?" Lucas asked barely hiding his irritation when Nathan ended his call. 

"Yup! And now we're getting dressed, we're meeting the girls outside in ten."

"I told you already, I'm not coming, Nate."

"C'mon, man! I'll talk to dad, don't worry about that."

"You will?" Lucas asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Yup, c'mon, you should come; you helped us win this game. The guys will want you there, Peyton will be miserable without you, we all want you there."

Lucas was ready to object again when a light bulb went on in his head. "Did Brooke put you up to this?"

"Yeah, man. She insisted that you come. I told you, we all want you there; it won't be the same without you. Besides, I won't hear the end of it if I don't convince you. You don't want me to be sent to the doghouse now, do you?"

Lucas ignored the rest of Nathan's talk and concentrated on one fact: Brooke had asked Nathan to talk him into going. Brooke wanted him to be there. Brooke wanted to see him. Yeah, it was called reasoning or just jumping to conclusions but he must have been right. What other explanation was there? Maybe that she was doing it for Peyton's sake? Yeah, but he liked the first explanation better.

Tonight's game had been interesting to say the least. From her pretending that he wasn't there and just cheering for her boyfriend and even Jake for Christ's sake, they had somehow come to her insisting that he went with them to the party. No, calling Nathan and asking him to make sure that he went to the party. The first sign was when he got hurt and he could discern the concern on her face. But he brushed it off thinking it was just wishful thinking. But then, when he actually got back in the game Lucas heard her yell his name again. His name. Not Nathan's, his. And she even smiled at him. Did he really need to get a bloody eyebrow just to get her to smile at him? Well, even if he needed to, he wouldn't complain. He knew he played far better after that. Of course he did get in with the intention to prove his father wrong, so he was determined to play better, but her voice, that was what gave him the strength to do so. Or so he thought. It is amazing what one can do with the proper motivation.

"If you get the okay from Dan, I'll come. But I'm not asking." He finally relented before questioning himself on what exactly he was aiming at when deciding that he did want to go to the party after all.

"Leave Dan to me," Nathan replied with a broad smile.

* * *

Okay, so there was something wrong with his reasoning process, Lucas deduced after the first half hour they had spent at the party. Or there was just something wrong with Brooke. Both explanations seemed equally plausible. Because why on earth would she insist on him coming when all she seemed to want to do was make out with his brother? Maybe she just enjoyed torturing him. He wasn't sure what he expected when he agreed to come, but he sure as hell didn't expect to get front row seats to that! 

As soon as they got there, they found a couch in a quite corner since the place wasn't that crowded yet. Nathan had opted to sit on an armchair across the couch and immediately drag Brooke on his lap, saying something about collecting his reward. At first Lucas tried to ignore it, talking with Peyton and staring solely at her. By the way, Peyton looked ecstatic about it. How sad was that? Then he tried the same with Haley. Now, thirty minutes later, Brooke was still on Nathan's lap and Lucas was staring at his second beer having run out of distractions.

"Oh, would you guys cut it out already?!" Was Haley's frustrated voice that made the pair in question come up for air.

"What?" Nathan asked looking flustered.

Haley shot him a glare and he shrugged. Brooke on the other hand inwardly thanked Haley for the interruption and getting up she straightened her denim skirt and smiled apologetically to Nathan.

"Later," she whispered causing him to groan.

"So what now?" He asked.

The six of them exchanged some glances coming up with…nothing.

"I'll go get a drink," Brooke finally said.

"And I need to go find Tim and the rest of the guys," Nathan said also getting up.

"I'll come with you," Lucas agreed eagerly.

"Sure, let's go." Jake also got up.

"I guess I can go and see if Mouth needs any help with the music." Peyton said with a sigh trying to hide her disappointment that Lucas was leaving her. But she decided to forget about it, the guys needed to talk about their game, she was reading too much into everything he did and perhaps that was why she was putting all that pressure to him. The pressure that had led to their fight and she was sure she didn't want any more of those. She and Lucas hardly ever fought and she hated it when they did, he just became even more distant and lately he was too distant as it was.

"And I guess I'm coming with you!" Haley faked enthusiasm running out of options.

* * *

The music was blaring, the alcohol flowing, the guys raved enthusiastically about their victory and the girls about how hot the guys were looking when getting that victory. Yup, a typical after game party in Tree Hill. 

Brooke found Peyton and Haley at the same couch twenty minutes later and slouched down, squeezing in between the two, causing them to groan in pain.

"Does anyone else feel like we're starring on a bad production of the Stepford Wives?" She asked as soon as she got settled.

"You weren't able to get Nate away from them, were you?" Peyton said with a smile.

"I wasn't even able to talk to him! They have him and Lucas cornered in the kitchen, and you can't get pass through them!" She huffed in annoyance.

"I told you, you wouldn't be able to get him." Peyton replied. "Why don't you dance for a bit, they will get bored and come seek us soon."

"Where's the fun in dancing when the only ones in the room to watch are a bunch of drunken girls? I mean all the guys are too busy drooling over our boyfriends!"

"Stupid basketball!" Haley deemed.

"I'm bored!" Brooke whined.

"Me too," Haley nodded.

"Me three," Peyton affirmed.

"I need another drink…" Brooke sighed getting ready to get up.

"You've had enough; didn't you say you actually wanted to remember the fun you had tonight for once?" Peyton reminded her.

"Am I having any fun?!" Brooke kept whining.

"You seemed to, when you were sucking on your boy-toy…" Peyton teased.

"Well, I don't see my boy-toy now, do you?!" Brooke snapped.

"Seriously, Tigger, way too much PDA!" Haley said still trying to shake the disgusting pictures out of her head.

"What can I say? Natey can't resist me." Brooke said smugly.

"That is so true," Nathan said leaning down behind the couch and kissing her neck.

"Finally!" Brooke exclaimed jumping from the couch. "You guys finally remembered you had left your girlfriends stranded in here?" She asked turning to all of the guys that had returned along with Skillz.

"Yes, they're back, but before you get any ideas, you're sitting right here!" Haley said pulling Brooke back down to the couch.

Nathan looked confused and Brooke mouthed a sorry.

* * *

"Okay, I need another drink," an already tipsy Brooke said after a while. "This party seriously blows…" 

"Another one?!" Jake asked bewildered. True the party kinda sucked, and they all had too much to drink, with Nathan, Brooke and surprisingly Lucas having had the most out of all of them. After the guys rejoined the girls, it seemed the only thing everybody found to do was drink. Even Haley had drunk more than she could handle, and she was always careful about that. Well, it was no wonder, he had lost count of how many times Brooke had used the exact same phrase in the time, wow, it hasn't even been an hour, they were all sitting together.

Brooke shrugged, "I'm just bored…what did we used to do to have fun at these things before, Goldilocks?"

Peyton seemed in thought, "See who of the two of us would make out with the most guys? Sorry guys!" She turned teasingly to both Scott brothers that were spluttering their drinks.

_Ok__ay_, Jake thought with amusement, _Nathan, Brooke, Lucas and Peyton were the most drunk_.

"Oh, the good old days!" Brooke said with a sigh of longing.

"And that they will remain, old!" Nathan said feigning anger, while Brooke giggled.

"What else?" She continued addressing Peyton again.

"Wait, wait, you can make out with your boyfriends!" Nathan suggested eagerly.

"No!" All the rest of them except Brooke shouted and Nathan pouted stubbornly.

"Where's the fun in that? Who would win?" Brooke said making Nathan pout even more.

"We could play something," Haley said suppressing a yawn.

"Yay, Tutor-girl! I like games! Anything in mind?"

"I Never?" Jake suggested with a shrug.

"Not fair, I would be drunk at the first round and Tutor-girl wouldn't have even taken a sip!" Brooke said sticking her tongue out at Haley.

"You said it!" Haley agreed with a grin.

"Then what?" Nathan asked.

"How about a dare night?"

Everyone in the group promptly turned their heads intriguingly to see who had voiced the new idea. And standing in a tight red dress with matching stilettos was the devil herself: Rachel.


	25. The Worst End of the Deal

_**AN: **_Hey! Thanks to everybody that reviewed. You're all awesome! Hm… there was a big decrease in the reviews, but with my updating rate I can't really complain. Anyway, this time I think I managed to update a lot sooner though the chapter is shorter than usual.

A big thanks to Denise for pushing me to update, she's the reason you're getting the update sooner! Also, thank you to Chinthana for her help with this chapter and the whole dare night she has discussed so many times with me! Finally, thanks to Vicky that helped me with the names-thingy, though I have to admit we had fun figuring that out!

I hope you like it and please tell me what you think about it!

* * *

_**Chapter 25**_

_**The Worst End of the Deal**_

"Did anyone speak to you?" Brooke spoke rudely being the first to find her voice, after the first shock Rachel's appearance out of nowhere had caused everyone.

"Hey, I'm just as bored as you guys seem to be, and I thought I would help put you out of your misery," Rachel replied too politely for her standards.

"I would like to put her out of her misery alright!" Brooke muttered turning to Peyton that nudged her to make her quiet.

"So, how about it?" Rachel asked again ignoring Brooke's obvious distain. Not that the rest of them looked anymore thrilled.

"A dare night?" Nathan repeated looking skeptical. "Shouldn't we be like prepared for that? We have no time to do it now. Come up with the dares and everything, who would do that and when?"

"Wait, what exactly is a dare night?" Haley interrupted them.

Rachel looked at her in shock coupled with pity and snorting she turned her attention to Nathan. "Actually, that won't be a problem, Nate. Felix and I had everything prepared to organize one at my party last week, but with my neighbor freaking, the damage to your car and all that, we kind of dropped the idea."

"So Felix would be in this as well? Great!" Brooke huffed, "Your suggestion just keeps getting better and better!" She said sarcastically.

"You won't have to be in a team with him," Rachel said with a shrug.

"There are teams?" Haley asked again and getting no response, _again_!

"And who exactly will participate in this thing?" Lucas asked as well but to no one's shock, Rachel hurried to reply.

"Well, we didn't have too many dares prepared, so I guess just us and Felix. You are seven and the two of us, we can have three teams of three." She suggested, while the annoyingly sweet smile appeared again on her face as she addressed Lucas.

"But won't it be weird if we just upped and left the party?" Peyton asked looking worried. "Won't the rest of the guys mind? Tim for example, Bev?"

"Who cares?" Rachel replied nonchalantly.

"I don't think anyone will even notice," Nathan agreed with a shrug. True, they were by themselves for the last hour or so and no one seemed to bother them.

"Most of us are too wasted to go driving around town though," Jake observed.

"Skillz isn't," Rachel said looking at him and he nodded in confirmation. "And neither am I nor Felix. We'll just make sure to be in different teams so we can drive if needed."

Brooke eyed her suspiciously. She seemed to have everything figured out. It was evident she had given much thought to this, too much for Brooke's liking.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell a dare night is?!" Haley exclaimed surprising everyone.

"Chill, Tutor-girl," Brooke appeased her stifling a giggle. "We split into teams, each team having to complete a number of dares. The one that goes through with the most of them wins."

"What kind of dares?" Haley asked more calmly now.

"Well, you'll have to ask Rach-ho about that," Brooke said eying the redhead in question.

"I really have no idea. Felix came up with most of them," Rachel answered smiling innocently.

"Yeah, right," Nathan mumbled, not convinced by his ex-sort of-girlfriend.

"So? Should I get Felix?" Rachel insisted.

"What makes you think we want to do anything involving the two of you? Let alone take part in a bunch of dares your hideous minds came up with?" Brooke asked with a disgusted face.

"Fine, if you want to keep sitting here doing nothing, suit yourselves. I understand if you're not feeling up to it, Brooke. I'd hate to lose as well."

"Oh, no," Peyton sighed to herself. She had a feeling they were just about to engage into a dare night.

"Excuse me?" Brooke asked fuming. "There's no way you would win, Rach."

"Well, we're not going to find out, are we? Since you're too chicken to even try it out." She snickered and then turned to Nathan. "And you Nate? Whoaa—I never thought I'd see you this whipped. The Nathan Scott I know would never say no to a challenge! It's so sad to see how you just let _your girlfriend _here, tell you what to do and what not."

_Great_, Lucas sighed. Well, he had to hand it to Rachel. She was certainly smart and knew how to choose her targets. Nathan and Brooke, probably the most pigheaded in the group.

"We're in. Go fetch your lapdog," Brooke ordered, and Nathan nodded in approval.

"Wh-what?! Wait!" Haley exclaimed.

Rachel of course ignored her and promptly turned to go and fetch Felix.

"Oh, hush, Tutor-girl, it's gonna be fun!" Brooke said trying out her widest grin.

True a dare night sounded far more exciting than what they were doing right now, which was…nothing! But…Rachel and Felix had come up with the idea, which only meant trouble ahead. Still, she could handle those two imbeciles, she was Brooke Davis! She played these games since… probably, since Rachel started playing them as well. _This should be interesting_, she thought. But her careless spontaneous side was begging her to do this. After all, she had been too much of a nice girl since she had come to Tree Hill and her wild self was begging for some action. Well, too nice if you ignored the fact that she had kissed her best friend's boyfriend, but whatever!

"Fun?!" Haley asked incredulously.

"Just go along with it, Hales," Nathan also suggested.

"Everybody else is in?" Haley asked in shock.

Peyton shrugged, if Brooke said yes, she was in, there was no arguing her way out of it.

"What the hell," Jake said with an indifferent expression. What was the harm in having some fun, anyway?

"If everyone else wants to, but I'm not so sure," Skillz said with a doubtful expression.

"Oh, you have to say yes, Skillz! You are one of the drivers! We can't do it without you!" Brooke said using the puppy-eyes in full effect.

"Well, if I am that important to you Brooke!" Skillz said sarcastically and Brooke just giggled.

"Lucas?" Haley asked turning to her best friend that was the only one that hadn't agreed with the rest of them yet.

Lucas looked around him, from Peyton that kept her eyes on him almost pleadingly, to his brother that was looking at him expectantly and finally to Brooke that was biting her lip nervously.

"Sure," he finally replied with a disinterested shrug. It sure as hell beat sitting around there waiting for Nathan to jump Brooke again or vice versa.

"See, Hales, that just leaves you," Nathan said looking at her pleadingly.

"C'mon, Tutor-girl! You have to say yes!" Brooke pleaded as well.

"Fine! But if this turns out the way I think it will, I'm coming after both of you!" Haley threatened.

Brooke only replied with a toothy grin that vanished when she saw the duo from hell approaching. She had to question her impulses… but not at the moment.

"Ok, so how are the teams gonna be?" Skillz asked just as Rachel and Felix rejoined the group. But no one could make out the answer, just as almost everyone started stating their teammates with too many conflicts to ever sort out.

The girls wanted to go together. But then again, they wanted to go with their boyfriends as well. The guys also wanted to go together but still wanted to keep an eye on their girlfriends, especially with Felix around. Well, for Lucas it wasn't _his_ girlfriend that he was mostly worried about. And of course, no one wanted to go with Rachel or Felix.

"Hey, hey!" Nathan yelled to get everyone's attention and quiet them down. Once he got it, he resumed. "Obviously, Rachel, Skillz and Felix will be on different teams, so we have to see who will go with each of them."

"I'll go with Skillz!" All three girls yelled and then burst out laughing.

"Well, what can I say, I'm that irresistible," Skillz said with a cocky grin.

"Shut up!" Haley exclaimed throwing him a pillow from the couch she was sitting.

"Geez, I'm hurt," Felix said with a sneer.

"Urm… Peyton and Brooke you can go with Skillz and then Hales and I can go with Rachel?" Jake suggested.

"Good, idea," Lucas nodded. This way he and Nathan would end up with Felix. Not bad at all, maybe they could really enjoy that, he thought sending a menacing glare to Felix.

"No, no! That won't work!" Rachel protested.

"Why not?" Brooke asked raising an eyebrow.

"That would leave an entire team with only guys; we need to mix them up. Some dares are only for girls and other for boys," Felix explained calmly.

"Then, how about if Peyton and Brooke went with Skillz, Hales and I with Felix and Nathan and Lucas with Rachel?" Jake amended his previous suggestion.

"Oh hell, no! No way!" Brooke objected jumping from the couch. Both Scotts and Rachel? _Oh, no, no! _She would never let that happen. And stupid Rachel was smiling like a kid in a candy store! Nope, there would be no Scott candy for her. Not if Brooke had anything to say about it. "Why don't I and Nathan go with Skillz, Peyton and Lucas with Felix and Jake and Hales with Rachel?" She proposed instead.

"It's dare night, Brooke, not a love fest!" Rachel replied disgusted, "I like the previous arrangement better. We want to have fun, not play third wheel to your lovey-dovey stuff. I think no couple should go together."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Haley snorted.

"This is getting us nowhere," Skillz said shaking his head.

"We'll never agree," Peyton agreed with him.

"Urm… maybe we should, I don't know, draw for teams or something like that?" Jake suggested.

Rachel and Felix exchanged a triumphant look that unfortunately no one noticed, since they were all focusing on Jake and his new idea.

"So leave it to chance?" Haley clarified.

"Why not? This way, no one can complain that they didn't get what they wanted, while others did. And really, I think it's the only way we're gonna come up with something within the night," Jake explained and almost everybody nodded in agreement.

"I don't like this," Brooke muttered to Peyton.

"Can you think of anything else?" Peyton asked her.

Brooke pouted. "Not really."

"Okay, so how we're gonna do it?" Nathan asked obviously taking the decision for all of them.

"Hm… I'll go get a deck of cards and we can draw from them." Felix suggested and then paused appearing to be thinking. "Rach, Skillz and I will draw first, until each of us has a different suit of cards in hand." He continued looking at everybody to make sure they were following him. "And then you all draw. Whichever suit you get, you're on that team," he concluded.

"Great idea, Felix!" Rachel exclaimed overly excited. "Go get the cards," she advised, while everybody nodded in agreement. It seemed like a good idea.

A couple of minutes later, he was back with the cards in hand, seeming to shuffle them as he came.

"Okay, here, Rach, draw first," he said offering her the cards.

Rachel took the first card, the two of clubs and then offered it to Skillz who revealed the second card, the Jack of spades, and finally Felix drew the third card, it was the five of hearts.

"Okay, so Rachel has clubs, Skillz spades and I have hearts. Now it's your turn," Felix said turning to everybody and hesitating for a minute.

"I'll draw first!" Haley exclaimed, she had finished her last drink and she was now finding this game idea far more exciting.

"And why would you draw first?" Brooke complained childishly.

"Oh, Jesus, we're not going to argue about this as well, are we?!" Lucas exclaimed exasperated.

"Let's do it alphabetically," Rachel suggested with a shrug. "It seems more fair and again no one gets to complain."

"Yay! Alphabetically! I'll go first!" Brooke said jumping in excitement and turning to Haley to stuck her tongue out.

"Ok, alphabetically it is. Let's just get this over with." Nathan sighed getting impatient.

"Just before we start, let's make it clear, there will be no complaints and no one switches teams. Everybody okay with this?" Felix clarified firmly and then assuming a more relaxed expression continued further. "Otherwise, this could go on all night."

Everybody nodded although Brooke seemed a bit reluctant. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something seemed fishy. Since everybody agreed, Felix handed the deck of cards to Brooke.

Taking the first card Brooke turned it around.

"Argh, the three of diamonds?" She said looking at her card incredulously.

"Just take the next one." Haley instructed.

"Really? I would have never thought of that on my own!" Brooke retorted sarcastically.

"Oh, just do it!" Haley insisted with a laugh.

"Geez, fine. Ok, so this is…" Brooke said and then scoffed as she turned around the card. "Hearts." She said sending an evil glare to Felix.

"Wh-what?!" Nathan immediately yelled bending to get a look at the card. "Oh, no! You don't!" He said turning to Felix and glaring at him.

Lucas was greeting his teeth. This was not going good, not good at all. Damn! This was very convenient for Felix to be attributed to mere chance. But he saw Felix shuffling the cards, didn't he?

"We said no complaints, Natey!" Rachel said with a sugary smile.

"Let's see how the rest of this thing will go, man," Jake said to Nathan also eyeing Felix suspiciously.

"Fine," Brooke huffed again. "Tutor-girl, c'mon. You're next." She said offering the cards to Haley.

"What? No! It's Jake!" Rachel protested fervently and then bit her lip at the curious glances she got from all of them.

"Rachel is right." Felix said calmly. "Jagielski goes before James."

"Oh, God, do you think I'm that stupid?!" Brooke snapped. "I know that Jagielski goes before James, you geniuses! But Haley goes before Jake." She concluded triumphantly.

"Yup, sorry Jakey, I'll go next." Haley also said turning playfully to Jake.

"Be my guest," he offered with a smile.

"But…" Rachel mumbled.

"What's your problem?!" Brooke exclaimed handing the cards to Haley.

"Never mind, let's go on," Felix suggested.

"Felix!" Rachel exclaimed fuming, but he just shrugged apologetically.

"Okay! So this is…Crap!" Haley exclaimed as she revealed the ten of clubs.

"Christ!" Rachel also huffed in irritation.

"Okay..." Jake said with a sigh. "So far we have Rachel with Hales and Brooke with Felix. My turn." He just wished he could go with his girlfriend because he really didn't want to think of what would happen between her and Rachel. But of course, _luck_ had other plans. "Spades." He muttered.

"Great!" Haley huffed and Brooke patted her hand sympathetically. "I got Felix." She said with a mournful expression and Haley just giggled.

"Lucas is next." Nathan said and Jake handed him the cards.

"Sawyer is before Scott-" Felix started but Nathan interrupted him.

"And Lucas is before Peyton. We've already done this!" He just wanted to see who would go with Brooke and Felix. It had to be him, otherwise there was no way he was letting her with him and Peyton. Well, Lucas would do as well; his brother would keep an eye on Felix.

Felix muttered a curse under his breath that made Brooke look at him curiously, but her attention was snapped back to the boy currently drawing the next card.

"Hearts." Lucas mumbled staring at the card in disbelief.

"Hearts?!" Brooke exclaimed unable to stop herself.

"Hearts." Lucas repeated showing the card around. In two days, he had somehow managed to draw out Brooke's name or sort of, twice in a row. He could say it was fate. Or that God or luck was laughing at his face. Either way, this was just too weird.

Rachel could be seen turning red, but nobody paid any real attention to her.

"So the first team is complete. Felix, Brooke and Lucas," Skillz summed it up.

Brooke looked around her a bit lost. Felix and Lucas?! It really couldn't have gone any worse.

"Hey, snap out of it!" Peyton shoved her playfully. "At least you will have Lucas with you to keep Felix in line."

"Yeah… I will," Brooke mumbled managing a weak smile.

Suddenly, Rachel grinned with satisfaction. "Nathan you don't need to draw," she said turning to him.

"Huh?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Well, it's me and Hales, and Skillz and Jake, and only you and Peyton left. Since we said no all guys or all girls, that automatically puts Peyton with the guys and you-"

"With you…" Nathan concluded with a sigh.

Brooke would under normal conditions be throwing a fit right about now, but she was still trying to process her own predicament. Felix and Lucas. Lucas and Felix. Yup, this was definitely going to be an interesting night.

* * *

Rachel and Felix left them for a minute, so they could prepare the dares for the three teams. And of course, both Brooke and Haley thought that this was a good time to voice their frustration.

"I can't believe I have to spend the rest of the night with that bitch!" Haley ranted.

"You'll have Nathan with you, don't worry." Peyton comforted her.

"Do not talk P. Sawyer! You're with Skillz and Jake, while Haley is stuck with the queen of bitches and I'm with that sleazeball! You have no right to speak!" Brooke huffed.

"Oh, you can handle Felix, Brooke. And besides, I told you, Luke will be there so there is no way he's gonna let him try anything."

"I told you I was going to come after you if things turned bad, and guess what?!" Haley snapped not appeased by Peyton's reassurance.

"C'mon, Hales, tonight is about having fun. Just ignore Rachel." Peyton insisted.

"Ignore her?!" Haley huffed. "I can't believe I've let you all drag me into this! What was I thinking?"

"Hey! I'm in a worse place than both of you!" Brooke complained again. "I have to deal with Felix _and_ think about Nathan with Rachel! God really hates me!"

"Don't worry about Nate and Rach-ho, Tigger. I won't let her near him." Haley said trying to calm Brooke down. At least Jake was with Peyton and Skillz.

"You do that! If that skank tries anything you tell me, and I'll show her!" Brooke remarked.

"C'mon you guys, we knew from the start some of us would get stuck with the two of them." Peyton tried to calm her friends down once again.

"Yeah, but it didn't have to be Brooke with that jerk!" Nathan intervened as the guys that were so far talking amongst themselves joined the girls' discussion.

"It's okay, baby," Brooke said reassuringly and then letting out an inaudible sigh continued hesitantly. "It's not like we're gonna be alone."

Lucas looked at her slightly raising an eyebrow, but Brooke seemed to be focused on Nathan.

"I know. But it still sucks," Nathan said sulking.

"Don't worry about it. You just watch out for that bitch," Brooke insisted.

"Rach? Puh-lease! Anyway, she seems more interested in Luke lately. Seems I'm old news." Nathan said faking disappointment.

Brooke immediately tensed and threw a glance at Lucas.

"Yeah, am I lucky or what?" He said sarcastically, while Peyton patted his back in comfort.

"Sucks to be you, man," Skillz said with a chuckle.

"At least he won't have to deal with her the whole night!" Haley repeated for the umpteenth time.

"Sorry, baby," Jake said taking her in his arms.

"That bitch has nothing on you Tutor-girl! You can take her anytime! And I expect you to do it, if she does what we were talking about!" Brooke said winking at Haley.

"Playing referee to those two? I sure as hell don't envy you either, dude!" Skillz told Nathan stifling a laugh.

"Wait, what did the two of you talked about?" Nathan asked looking between Brooke and Haley who were grinning, after scoffing at Skillz.

"Girl stuff." Brooke simply replied with a shrug.

"Yup, no boys allowed." Haley confirmed with a grin.

"I think I liked it better when those two hated each other," Nathan mumbled to Lucas that smiled in response.

He hadn't had the opportunity to question either of the girls on what had caused this change in their relationship and he was very curious about it. He didn't really wonder about Brooke. He had already guessed she liked Haley, somewhere deep down within her, though she would never admit it. But Hales was a real mystery. She genuinely resented Brooke; she actually seemed to hate her. What could have changed her mind? Lucas made a note to himself to talk with his best friend as soon as possible.

* * *

"How the hell did this happen?" Rachel asked irritated as she closed the door to the room she and Felix had retreated to prepare the final details for the dares.

"It's not my fault!" Felix protested.

"You were supposed to fix the cards!"

"And I did! How was I supposed to know they would go with their first names instead of their last?!" Felix asked also in frustration.

"You should have said something! When I told them they were doing it wrong, you should have backed me up!"

"What the fuck was I supposed to say? They would know something was wrong if we'd insisted too much! They're not that stupid!"

"I was supposed to go with Lucas and Jake!" Rachel exclaimed. "Instead, I got Nathan and that James girl!"

"And I was supposed to go with Brooke and Peyton! Do you think I wanted for that Scott bastard to come along with us?!"

"At least you got Brooke!"

"Like that will do me any good with Scott watching my every move! And you didn't end up that bad yourself. You might not have gotten Lucas, but you got Nathan. Isn't _he_ the one you want anyway?"

"God, you're so dense! Of course, I want Nathan! But he's too infatuated with that LA slut to notice me at the moment!"

"And you think Lucas would?" Felix asked with a snort.

"Oh, God! Why do I even try with you?! I didn't need Lucas to do anything with me! I just wanted Brooke to think that he did!"

"Can't you do the same with Nathan?"

"Not with that geek around! Jake is a guy, he would be so much easier to manipulate!"

"Well, what's done is done. We just have to make the best of it, now." Felix said with a resigned sigh.

"Why does every plan I include you in end up in utter disaster?!" Rachel kept on, raising her hands up in frustration. "I thought you said you had everything planned out! And now look! I don't know why I had to bring you into this!"

"Because I was the one that came up with the idea of fixing the cards and there was no way you could do it yourself?" Felix remarked cockily.

"I have to admit that tidbit where you actually seemed to be shuffling the cards was really good. You didn't mix them up then by accident, did you?" She said accusingly.

"Of course not! I only shuffled around the bottom of the deck. The top was left in tacked. And if we chose by last name, you would go with Lucas and Jake, I with Brooke and the blonde, and Skillz with Nathan and Haley."

"Everything was going fine! We didn't even have to suggest picking the teams by chance ourselves! Jake did it for us! But then Brooke had to give those damn cards to Haley! Argh!"

"It was pretty much shot to hell after that. Funny you would get Nathan even if you had let him draw, in the end," Felix said smiling.

"Yeah, freaking hilarious!" Rachel snapped and then letting out a deep sigh tried to collect herself. "Okay, so I have Nathan, so I'll try my best with him. Maybe if I get him drunk enough, something might happen. And I hope that stupid tutor will pass out in the process!" She paused with a sneer. "Now, you with Brooke and Lucas. Well, this gives us at least an opportunity to watch those two together. And if you push the right buttons, maybe we'll be able to get something out of this after all."

"Hey, I have her with me for the rest of the night. Do you honestly think Scott being there will stop me?"

"Atta boy! Either you score or Lucas snaps and we have them exactly where we want them."

"Like he's gonna stop me," Felix said smugly.

"Don't get too cocky there, Felix. Lucas could beat you up in a heartbeat."

"He wouldn't dare!"

"From what we saw so far, Scott isn't too keen on sharing, even with his brother," Rachel grinned evilly and Felix chuckled.

"So you have the dares ready?" She asked again and Felix nodded showing her three envelopes.

"Cool. Good luck, Felix. Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

Felix and Rachel returned to find the rest of the gang still arguing on who got the worst end of the deal.

"So," Rachel started as everybody turned to her. "Since it's already rather late, we'll only have three dares for each team."

Felix produced the three closed envelopes, and out-stretched his hand letting the rest of them choose an envelope. Brooke and Nathan simultaneously grabbed one each and Felix handed the last one to Peyton.

"No one opens their envelope until we get out of here," Rachel explained. "There are three other envelopes in each envelope you have, marked with one-two-three. You have to do the dares in order."

"How would we know the dares were actually done, let alone in the correct order?" Haley asked.

"There needs to be proof," Felix replied. "You all have your cells with you; we can take photos when completing the dares. Or if you can provide any other proof, you can do that. The time on which the photos were taken will show the order."

The rest of them nodded and he went on. "We'll meet here again after; in… let's say three hours. One hour per dare, though I doubt it will take that much. So this gives everybody plenty of time to get everything done. I guess the party won't be over till then. Then each team shows what it has done and we determine the winner."

"Wouldn't it be better if someone else determined the winner? So there won't be any arguing?" Peyton suggested.

"We can use Tim as the judge." Nathan suggested.

"And Bevin!" Brooke chimed in.

"And Mouth!" Haley also suggested.

"Whatever," Rachel shrugged indifferently. "Tim, Bevin and Mouth will be the judges. Now let's go! It's already late!"

Jake, Nathan and Lucas briefly kissed their girlfriends and they all turned to go.

Just before the teams headed out, Nathan grabbed Lucas' arm and kept him behind.

"Luke, I don't trust that ass around Brooke. He's been hitting on her since day one," Nathan whispered seriously.

"I know," Lucas replied grimly. Did he know alright! He still remembered every little encounter between those two he had witnessed, from the first day Brooke got to school when he saw them by her locker. He had made sure to keep an eye on Felix whenever he came near Brooke ever since.

"You make sure that he doesn't try anything funny," Nathan continued.

"If he does, he'll regret it," Lucas said sternly. All this time, watching that jerk hitting on Brooke, not that she seemed even remotely interested in him, but still, Lucas was itching to get his hands on him. He almost wished Felix would give him a reason tonight.

"I'm so relieved you got to go with them. If it was Peyton or Hales I would be really worried but with you there, it's different," Nathan said smiling gratefully to Lucas.

"You don't have to worry about him. I won't let him do anything." He reassured his brother again inwardly cringing at the irony of his brother plea and his own response.

"I'm counting on you, bro. Watch out for her."

"Trust me," Lucas said swallowing the lump in his throat. "I won't let him touch her."

"Thanks, man. That means a lot." Nathan concluded patting his brother at the back feeling assured that everything would go fine tonight.


	26. And Then There Were Two

_**AN:**__ Hey guys! Thank you to everyone that reviewed! I'm so glad that you're still enjoying the story and your kind words mean the world to me! Now, I see you're getting a bit impatient with the lack of brucas… let's say I'm going to try and satisfy you as much as I can. But keep in mind, if they just got their happily ever after the fic would be over! lol But seriously, expect much more brucas soon. Like really soon! The next chapters are planned out and I'm sure (well I hope) that they will satisfy you! And not only as far as brucas is concerned... we have other couples as well!_

_Now for this chapter, first of all I have to give most of the credit to Cinthana who besides being my wonderful beta, was the one that came up with the dares! So this chapter and the next wouldn't be possible without her! You rock girl!_

_Thanks also to Vicky who also edited this chapter for me! Your constant encouragement is one of the most important reasons that keep me going! Oh, and thanks to her hubby for putting up with us! _

_Thank you also to Lindsay, who read some parts of this and ensured me they weren't complete nonsense! And for the songs she suggested for this chapter._

_The lyrics__ in this chapter are from the songs: 'Ayo Technology' by 50 Cent and 'Baby Got Back' by __Sir Mix-A-Lot._

_So, I hope you'll enjoy and please review!_

* * *

_**Chapter 26**_

_**And Then There Were Two**_

"Okay, open it up!" Rachel urged Nathan as soon as they got into her car. 

Nathan had sat at the passenger's seat, while Haley had opted to sit in the back, which was still too close to Rachel for her liking. 

Nathan hastily shred the envelope open and pulled out the three smaller ones. Choosing the one marked 'one', he ripped it open again and started to quickly read the instructions.

"Shit! He's going to kill us!" Nathan muttered just as he read it.

"Who? Who?" Haley questioned in panic. She knew this had been a bad idea, a very bad idea. Now even Nathan, who had seemed excited about it before, looked absolutely terrified.

"What does it say?" Rachel asked also intrigued. For once, she had been telling the truth when she told them that Felix had come up with most of the dares. She had just suggested a few that might seem useful in her plans to seduce Lucas, or make Brooke believe that she had. But she didn't know how Felix had ended up splitting the dares among the teams, or what else he came up with.

Nathan cleared his throat. "Spray paint on the school football field the phrase: 'I LoVE YOU WhitEy' in pink paint".

"Wh-what?" Haley stuttered.

"Seriously?" Rachel asked before bursting out in laughter. 

"You think it's funny?" Nathan asked with irritation.

"C'mon, Nate! Think about Whitey's face when he sees it on Monday!" Rachel managed to get out between heaps of laughter.

"I'm thinking of the suicides I'll have to run when he sees it," Nathan muttered. "But I guess you're right. Seeing his face will be worth it!" He concluded with a chuckle.

"You can't seriously think that we're going to do this!" Haley intervened.

Rachel seemed not to hear her as she started her car. "Let's head to the hardware store first, so we can get some paint."

"Nathan!" Haley exclaimed.

"C'mon, Hales. It's just the first dare. We can't back out before even trying!"

"But… but, we can't do it! The school is going to be locked at this hour!"

"Did you think we were going to do this on Monday when the school is open and every teacher is watching us?" Rachel asked sarcastically.

"But how are we going to get in!"

"It's called breaking in…pshh!" Rachel replied in the same tone.

"Breaking in?" Haley screamed with utter horror. Rachel was joking…right?

"Well, would you prefer to call the guard to let us in?" 

"Cut it out, Rach," Nathan said sternly and then turned his head back to face Haley. "Relax, Hales. The fence behind the gym is in shambles. We'll easily find a hole to sneak through."

"But there is a guard! What if we get caught! This is breaking and entering! A felony! You can't be serious!"

"We're not gonna get caught. We'll be careful. C'mon, you know the guard is always sleeping at night. It'll be a piece of cake."

"If we get caught and I end up in jail, I'm going to stay there for life! Because rest assured, Nathan Scott, I am going to kill you for this!"

* * *

"You will ask for the damn tampons and I'm going to ask for the make up!" Jake repeated with frustration.

"No way! You're asking for tampons!" Skillz objected again.

"We tossed for it, man! You got the tampons!" 

"You … rigged it!" Skillz said in a moment of inspiration. "I say we do it again!"

"I did not! I won the make up fair and square!"

"Dude, if I go in there asking some lady what kind of tampons I should use, she's definitely going to call the cops!"

"And you think if I do it, she'll find it normal!" Jake exclaimed outraged. "What are you actually implying?"

"At least you're white, dawg!"

"What's that got to do with this!" A fed up Jake yelled.

"Don't know, but I'd thought it'd help?" Skillz offered with a shrug.

They had been having this argument for the past fifteen minutes to say the least. When they first read the dare, and after swearing that they were going to make Felix pay dearly for this later, since they couldn't decide who would get what, they decided to toss for it. The dare was simple. They were supposed to go into the super-market, approach some lady customer and ask her what kind of tampons they should use and what kind of make up. Well, Skillz didn't accept the results without a fight. And to be honest Jake would do the same in his place. At least he would have to ask what kind of make up was right for his skin complexion or something. (That was Peyton's suggestion actually…she was thrilled to help… damn Peyton!) And not what kind of …argh…he shuttered at the mere thought of it. The make up thing was more…dignified? Oh, hell, this was supposed to be fun! Who came up with these stupid dares? Oh yeah, Felix! He was so dead!

Jake was just about to retort when a thud turned both boys' attention to the third member of their team. A hysterical Peyton, with tears in her eyes, had been laughing so hard that she actually collapsed on the ground leaning her back against their car that was parked outside the super-market.

"I hate you, Sawyer," Jake muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, man, how come she doesn't have to do anything?" Skillz also huffed.

"Not true, I'll take the pictures!" Peyton exclaimed enthusiastically and both boys just glared at her. "Oh, Skillz, you've read that dare ten times! It said it was for the guys of the team! Besides, where would the fun be in me asking for tampons or make up?" She went on as she got up, trying to recover. The look on their faces wasn't helping her much. 

"I still say we should say that we're buying this for our girlfriends," Jake muttered but Peyton objected again, as she had done all the times he had voiced his idea. 

"The shock factor won't be the same! It will show in their faces that they're not freaked, Jake! I already explained this to you!"

He seemed ready to object again, but she cut him off. "Besides, do you really want us to cheat?"

"As Jake said, we hate you, Sawyer. Enough said," Skillz muttered in defeat.

* * *

Felix led a nervous Brooke and a grim Lucas to his car. Unlocking the car, he turned to Brooke. "You can sit in the front, Brooke." 

Before Brooke had time to respond, and while she was still considering her options, Lucas answered for her. "She's sitting in the back."

"Excuse me?" She said turning to look at him immediately ready to pick a fight. She would have probably declined Felix's offer anyway, but now that Lucas said so she actually got mad about it. Who did he think he was, telling her what to do? 

"I said you are sitting in the back," he repeated slowly fixing her with a cold stare. 

"And why would you tell her where to sit? What are you? Her boyfriend?" Felix intervened raising an eyebrow towards Lucas and letting the sarcasm drip through his words. "Last time I checked, that was supposed to be your brother," he concluded in the same tone.

Lucas clenched his jaw but couldn't really come up with a reply. At least with one that would leave Felix in a vertical position. "You stay out of this," he finally managed through gritted teeth.

Brooke on the other hand was looking between the two, feeling even more nervous than before. This night was so not going well and they hadn't even spent five minutes together! Felix was actually hinting about the two of them. What the hell, he wasn't just hinting he was throwing it at their faces! But Lucas was too busy acting like a jealous jerk to realize what the other boy was saying. Stupid stupid Lucas! 

Felix raised his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I don't want to interfere in your _family's_ business," he said still using the same sarcastic tone. "If you want to _bond _with your future sister-in-law in the backseat, who am I to argue?"

"What the fuck are you-" Lucas said enraged taking a step towards Felix, but Brooke stepped in between them. She had a feeling she would have to do that a lot tonight.

"Look _boys_," she said mockingly frustrated with both of them. Felix because…well, he was Felix, and Lucas because he was playing right into Felix's hands. And to think she actually considered him smart! "The others left and are probably already done with the first dare, while you two are standing here bickering like a bunch of schoolgirls! I will not let Rachel win this thing because of your stupidity! I'm sitting in the back, and you, Lucas, are sitting in the front! As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't be far enough from both of you!"

"Fine with me," Lucas muttered and after glaring one last time at Felix walked to the other side of the car and got in the passenger's seat.

"You certainly have him whipped," Felix remarked before entering the car himself.

Brooke exhaled deeply and followed his lead, taking her place at the backseat. Felix adjusted his rearview mirror and opened the light in the car. 

"Go ahead," he prompted Brooke, who had the envelope in her hands.

Brooke quickly shred open the envelope and retrieved the smaller one numbered with the digit one. Opening it, she started reading and let out an excited giggle. "This actually sounds like fun!" She said with a smile after finishing.

"What does it say?" Felix asked her.

"Don't you know? You wrote them," Lucas piped in.

"I have no idea which envelope we got, genius," Felix replied sarcastically. "And I actually have no idea how they were even split between the teams. That's why I used separate envelopes for each of the dares and then mixed them up. I have no idea which three we got out of the nine."

Lucas was about to speak and state his disbelief, which was written all over his face, but Felix continued. "And I did all that, so some asshole wouldn't say I had everything planned out from the start," he said giving the blond a fake grin.

"Are you calling me an asshole!" Lucas yelled ready to lunge at him for the second time in the last five minutes.

"Guys!" Brooke let out in utter frustration. "Will you both just shut up and let me read this!"

"Are you telling me you actually believe he isn't up to something?" Lucas said turning to face Brooke. "Do you really believe you are on his team due to pure luck?" He snorted in disbelief.

Of course, she didn't. But what was she supposed to say?

Felix just laughed. "Yeah, Scott, brilliant. It was my plan to get Brooke and you on my team…right! God, I can't understand what all the chicks see in you! You don't have the looks and it sure as hell can't be your brains!"

"Enough!" Brooke yelled again before Lucas could retort. "Don't you want to win this thing?" She asked looking at both of them. "Either you forget you hate each other for tonight, or I'm out of here, now!" She threatened.

Lucas didn't really seem fazed. Apparently, he could care less about the stupid game. If Brooke left, then he would have no reason to put up with that smug jerk for the rest of the night. Felix on the other hand didn't want to waste this opportunity of spending time with Brooke. He had let his feelings for Lucas get in the way of his plans. Well, part of his plans was getting to the blond boy, but not by enraging Brooke in the process. Now, if Lucas was the one threatening to leave them that would be perfect and that was what he was aiming for. But it seemed like Scott wouldn't budge. Deciding on a change of tactics he turned to Brooke with a grin.

"Anything for you, my lady," he curtly replied his mouth forming into an endearing grin.

"She is not _your _lady," Lucas corrected firmly.

"Hey, man, it was just a figure of speech! Geez!" 

"Not again!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I didn't do anything! If Lucas can't stand me, it's not my fault! Maybe he should leave us if he doesn't care about the game! I'm sure we can manage on our own just fine!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Lucas replied.

"Hey, I never said I want to spend my time with you. Why don't you do us both a favor and run along? I will take care of Brooke." He said the last part throwing a suggestive glance at Brooke.

Lucas looked again like he was trying really hard to control himself, and Brooke immediately jumped in.

"No one is going anywhere! Lucas, leave him alone," she said turning to the blond.

"Me!" Lucas yelled outraged.

"Lucas, please," Brooke repeated, pleadingly this time, and Lucas nodded. "Okay, so let's get to our dare. Do you know if there is a carnival in town?" She asked both of them.

"Oh, so that's what we've got! Cool!" Felix smiled in realization. "There is one, about two miles from the mall. It's open only on weekends, so it's perfect," he concluded turning on the engine.

"Mind briefing me on our dare, or are the two of you fine with just each other knowing?" Lucas said with annoyance turning to Brooke.

Brooke heaved a sigh. Why was he acting like a damn five-year old?

"We must break into a carnival or theme park and work one of the rides!" She said plastering a wide smile.

"Yipee!" Lucas countered sarcastically.

"Dear God!" Brooke groaned burying her head in her hands as the car finally sped off.

* * *

Pink sprays in hand, the three of them made their way behind the gym. Nathan had parked the car a couple of blocks away, just to be sure, as he told Haley. Haley, oh yeah, she was practically trembling. The additional beer Rachel had offered did little to quench her fear. Why would Rachel have a six pack in the back seat was beyond Haley. But Nathan had eagerly taken the first one, and after his prompt Haley took the second to 'loosen up'. Unfortunately, no amount of alcohol could convince her that what they were about to do was not completely insane.

They walked in silence, Nathan leading the way with Rachel next to him and Haley almost glued behind his back. And they hadn't even entered the school yet!

"You okay, Hales?" Nathan said as they almost reached the fence.

"No," Haley whispered shaking her head fervently.

"Relax, we're almost there," he urged, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Can't we just go back? We still have time!" She pleaded.

"C'mon!" He said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, stop babying her!" Rachel said in exasperation and passing in front of Haley she stood to examine the fence a few feet away from them. "There!" She said turning to Nathan and pointing to a hole in the fence on their left.

"That's it!" Nathan exclaimed also.

"Oh, no!" Haley let out taking a step back. 

"Listen _Hales_, if you're planning to whine the whole time, maybe we should just leave you here!" Rachel suggested with annoyance. Haley's constant whining was driving her crazy. And it wouldn't hurt to have some alone time with Nathan. So far all Nathan did was try and convince the stupid tutor that everything would be alright. He hadn't even spared her a glance.

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not comfortable with breaking into our school!" Haley retorted in aggravation.

"Shh…" Nathan intervened trying to make them keep quiet, "C'mon, let's get in. Hales, you'll be fine. I'm here," he said smiling at her reassuringly and Haley just nodded still hesitating.

Nathan walked to the ruined part of the fence and picked up the loose part to make room for the girls to enter first. He gestured with his hand for Haley and she approached him slowly. "Watch your head," he instructed in a quiet voice.

Haley kneeled down on the grass and slowly started to crawl under the fence. Rachel followed behind her. Haley watched as Rachel shamelessly made a point of sticking her ass in Nathan's face. And considering the mini dress she was wearing, Haley was certain she was giving him an ample view of her legs or more. Nathan seemed distracted and Haley guessed if she asked him what color Rachel's panties were, he would surely know the answer. Fake coughing as quietly as she managed, she made him turn his head away from the view looking down guiltily. 

Rachel got through and standing up she gave a smug grin at Haley. Nathan followed behind her, carefully lifting the fence and passing through quickly. Just as he got up, Haley smacked him behind his head. 

"Hey!" He protested. "What did I do?"

Haley gave him a pointed look and he shrugged grinning innocently. 

_Guys_, Haley thought rolling her eyes. But she had promised Tigger she would keep an eye on him and that's why she was doing this. _Definitely_!

"Are you done getting your spanking from her?" Rachel asked smiling in amusement. She was happy Nathan had finally paid some attention to her. _Guys, they were all the same_, she thought with mild disgust. And she sure as hell knew how to play them.

Haley gasped and Nathan just shook his head. "Follow me," he said to both of them and started walking.

Using the gym for cover they managed to make their way to the football field. Nathan scanned the area around. The lights on the field were out and he figured that no one would be able to see them in the dark if they stayed quiet. 

"Okay, each of us works on a different letter. Don't try and make it too big. We need to hurry. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we will get out of here," he said and the two girls nodded, while Rachel also giggled in excitement.

"Shh!" Haley said in sheer panic, and Rachel threw up her hands in frustration. 

"Ready?" Nathan asked one last time. 

Rachel of course nodded yes and Haley no. Shaking his head, he took Haley's hand, who seemed almost ready to pass out, and practically dragged her to the center of the field with Rachel following right beside them.

* * *

The ride wasn't going that good so far, not that any of the car occupants expected anything different. Felix for the most part seemed to pay attention to the road. At first, he had tried to 'make conversation' with Brooke, but she only replied with 'uh-ha' and 'whatever', so thankfully, he seemed to give up for now. Brooke was looking out of her window for most of the time, only trying to steal inconspicuous glances at the boy that also had his eyes turned to his window at the passenger's seat. She had seen him go tense every time Felix addressed her, but he relaxed with her non-enthusiastic replies. 

Lucas was, like Brooke, looking through his window and thinking of her of course. He was glad she didn't seem to respond to any of Felix's attempts to talk or flirt with her, and he knew he had overdone it with the jealous boyfriend act at the parking lot, but that guy just had a way of getting under his skin. He never liked him from the first time he had arrived at their school. He felt like there was just something not right about him. He often wondered how he could be related to Anna who was such a nice girl. In contrast to Felix, he and Anna had become friends. The unfortunate fact was that Anna saw him as more than a friend. But he didn't. Anna hadn't come clean about her feelings, but the way she acted made it quite clear. So he tried to make sure that she knew they were just friends, but be subtle about it. Apparently, her brother had perceived that as Lucas misleading or using his sister, who knew… and when Peyton came along and the two of them got together, Felix started to hate Lucas and put him down every opportunity he got. Of course he couldn't often afford going up against the most popular kids in school and Lucas was one of them. Anyway, the hatred was mutual. And the way Felix was talking or looking at Brooke only made that feeling ten times worse for Lucas. 

The radio speakers coming suddenly to life startled both Brooke and Lucas, and Lucas turned to Felix, glaring at him.

"What?" Felix grinned innocently. "I just thought some music would help with our mood."

"You call this music?" Lucas said with distain cringing at the loud rap beat that filled the car.

"And I thought only Nate had such horrible taste in music," Brooke said shaking her head in despair.

"Who would have thought Nathan and I would like more than one thing in common?" Felix said with a suggestive grin looking at Brooke.

"Did he just call me a thing!" Brooke asked bewildered turning to Lucas and she couldn't help but smile. Because for the first time that night, it actually seemed like he was about to smile. The blond just shrugged however and turned his head back to the front.

Felix turned the volume even higher. "You seriously don't like this?" He asked Brooke with a raised eyebrow.

"Shocking, but no, I don't," Brooke said mockingly.

_Look at the way she shakin' shakin'_

_Make you want to touch it, make you want to taste it_

_Have you lustin' for her, go crazy face it_

_Now don't stop, get it, get it_

_The way she shakin' make you want to hit it_

"It was like it was written for you," Felix went on ignoring Lucas' death glare. 

"Is this your attempt of being romantic? Because let me tell you, it sucks!" She replied with a frown.

"I bet you know how to shake it," he continued undeterred looking at her suggestively through the rearview mirror but Brooke just rolled her eyes.

_She knows just how to move to seduce you_

_She gonna do the right thing and touch the right spot_

_Dance in you're lap till you're ready to pop_

"Hey, who knows, maybe one of the dares includes you giving me a lap dance?" Felix went on.

Okay, so she found the tune catching and yes she would probably dance to it… but not for his pleasure. Now if it was for Lucas… 

Shaking her head she just huffed. "In your dreams, Felix…"

_I'm tired of using technology, why don't you sit down on top of me?_

_Aayoo_

_I'm tired of using technology, I need you right in front of me_

_Ooh, she wants it, uh uh, she wants it_

_Ooh, she wants it (soo), I got to give it to her_

"You know you want it," he winked at her.

Brooke buried her head in her hands in despair, when suddenly the music stopped just as abruptly as it had started. 

"Why did you do that for, man?" Felix was snapping at Lucas.

"_We _don't like it, majority rules," Lucas replied with a smug grin. "Right, Brooke?"

"What makes you think she wasn't having fun? You must know by now she gets it off by playing hard to get." 

"Don't talk about her that way!"

"Hello? I'm right here you know?" Brooke said with a wave of her hand.

"Who appointed you her guardian? If she wants me to stop she'll tell me. But I'm telling you she's enjoying every bit of it!" Felix seethed.

"I swear to God, Taggaro, one more word and I'll…"

"Lucas!" Brooke snapped as she saw Lucas balling his fists. "Are you trying to get us all killed! We're in the middle of the road, he's driving! Cut the macho B.S.!"

Lucas head snapped in her direction and he looked at her, shocked and angry. She was mad at him again? When all he did was try and make that asshole stop talking about her like a teasing slut? The hell with her! He didn't say anything but just turned back to face the front of the car. 

"Lucas, I didn't mean…" Brooke pleaded.

Lucas reached out his hand and turned the stereo back on. Brooke slumped back in her seat and Felix grinned with satisfaction. One step forward, two steps back.

* * *

Both Jake and Skillz were lingering in the cosmetics aisle, focused on the male deodorants. Peyton was standing at the other end of the aisle, looking at some nail polishes. Every time a new lady customer walked through she made faces at them, trying to put them into action and every time they shook their heads in protest. 

"Go!" She mouthed for yet another time when she saw a young woman around her thirties walk into the aisle and pick some lipsticks to try.

Both guys shook their heads 'no' and Peyton stomped her foot down. The woman turned to look at her and Peyton smiled in embarrassment. The woman left after picking a lipstick and Peyton marched to the two boys looking anything but happy.

"C'mon, you guys! We're losing time! We could have done this hours ago!"

"Don't push us, girl! This ain't easy! We need to find the suitable customer." Skillz replied calmly.

"Suitable?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"One that won't call the cops!" Jake explained naturally.

"No one is going to call the cops because you ask her for some make up, Jake!" Peyton said exasperated.

"And tampons, don't forget the tampons, man!" Skillz filled in emphatically.

"Urgh! I never thought the two of you would be so chicken!"

"Hey!" Both guys yelled indignantly.

"Next one that comes in, one of you is going! Or I'm dragging you there myself!" 

Before she had time to finish her phrase another lady, older than the previous one, made her appearance. "Who is it going to be?" Peyton asked looking at the two guys sternly. Both stood uneasily in front of her, no one daring to move. "I warned you!" Was all Peyton said before grabbing Jake's hand and forcefully pulling him with her towards the lady. Jake was taken by surprise and before he had time to realize what was happening they were standing beside the lady.

Peyton immediately picked up a random make-up powder and pretended to inspect it. "I'm telling you this is the right color," she said loudly turning to Jake and shoving the makeup in his hand.

"Peyton!" Jake hissed but she just ignored him.

"Excuse me, miss," she said with a smile addressing the woman. "Could you please help us with something?" 

The woman turned to face them and smiling back politely, she nodded. "Of course, how can I help you?"

"My friend, here, needs to ask you a question," Peyton explained still smiling sweetly, while Jake seemed to go pale in a matter of seconds.

"Yes, dear?" The woman asked turning to him.

Jake took a deep breath and opened his mouth. Then he closed it and gulped. Then he repeated the action one more time, oddly resembling a fish in Peyton's opinion. The woman just looked at him curiously and then turned to Peyton with a questioning look. 

"C'mon, Jakey! Don't be shy! This nice lady won't think badly of you!" She said sounding encouraging and sympathetic, and trying really hard not to burst into laughter.

Jake glared at her and then turned to the woman that seemed to be getting impatient but rather curious at the same time. Clearing his throat he tried once again.

"I wanted to ask… I would like your opinion on… I was wondering what…" He sighed miserably and Peyton almost choked while trying to suppress her laughter. Instead, she turned to look at Skillz so as to signal him to get the cell ready, but he was ahead of her.

Jake let out another sigh. "I was wondering if you could tell me if you think this makeup seems right for my skin complexion." He blurted out in one breath outstretching his hand to show the woman the makeup.

The woman looked at him in shock that she tried rather quickly to mask. "You said _your _skin complexion?" She repeated just to make sure.

"Yes, ma'am," Jake muttered avoiding to look at her. 

"Oh, okay. Yeah," The woman said uneasily glancing briefly at Peyton who was biting the inside of her cheek to withhold the laughter. "Well, I think you should probably use a darker shade."

"Ok, thanks," Jake tried to get out of there as fast as he could, but unfortunately the woman decided to be more helpful.

"Here, wait," she said turning to the shelves and getting two other powders. "I think one of these would go perfectly with your complexion." She said offering him the make ups.

"Uh, thank you," Jake said once again and looked at Peyton helplessly as the woman seemed ready to go on.

"Do you want to try it and see what's best for you? You should put some on your hand, dear, to see how it looks," she said politely.

Peyton couldn't manage this time and a snort escaped her mouth as she noticed the mortified expression on Jake's face.

"No, that won't be necessary. I'll take both!" Jake said hurriedly and before the woman had time to say anything else rushed away from the aisle almost running.

"Erm, excuse my friend," Peyton tried to explain to the woman that looked again surprised at the way Jake had fled. "He's not yet comfortable, with talking about…you know."

"Well, he shouldn't be embarrassed. But he has a good friend in you, trying to encourage him," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, thank you for all of your help, we really appreciate it," Peyton said and left the lady in search of Jake and Skillz that had disappeared by now.

She found both of them in front of the dairy section. Skillz was laughing his head off, while Jake was retelling his story and looking apprehensively around him to make sure the same woman wouldn't appear again. 

"Peyton…" He said through gritted teeth as she approached them while shaking his head.

Peyton grinned and turned to Skillz, "Did you get a good photo?"

Skillz nodded and handed her the cell to see for herself. The photo was great. It was taken the moment Jake had his hand out showing the woman the makeup and her eyes had gone wide in shock while her mouth hung slightly open.

"Good job, Skillz!" Peyton exclaimed happily. "One down, one to go," she concluded with a wicked grin.

* * *

Felix's choice of music still filled the car. Felix kept on flirting with Brooke, but Lucas didn't even seem to flinch any longer. Actually, the only words he had offered after Brooke had snapped at him was concerning their dare. Brooke brought the subject up so they could form some type of plan. It was then that they discovered they didn't have any flashlights with them. Since the park was bound to be pitch black they figured they needed some source of light until they could manage to find how and where to turn some lights on. Felix didn't have any in his car, so Lucas suggested they drop by Keith's shop so he could pick some up, instead of them going to buy new ones. After all, the shop was on their way. 

When they arrived, Lucas got out and turning to Felix he told him he would be back in five. Brooke was beyond frustrated and sad by now. She shouldn't have yelled at him again. But he should realize she could handle herself around creeps like Felix just fine, thank you! And him acting the way he was, was giving Felix all the proof he needed that there was something suspicious going on between of them. 

"Alone at last," Felix said wishfully, turning the stereo volume down.

"Oh, joy!" Brooke remarked sarcastically.

"I don't understand how you can like him. A cheery girl like you and that permanently depressed loser…"

"Don't call me that," Brooke said icily.

"Huh?" Felix looked confused.

"Do not call me cheery," she repeated firmly.

"I don't understand, what's wrong with calling you cheery?" 

Brooke just glared at him and he shrugged, "Okay, fine! I just meant that you and I could have so much more fun together… what do we need him for to spoil our mood?"

"In case you forgot, I have a boyfriend."

"I won't tell, if you don't."

"Look, I know that you're used to sluts, you do hang out with Rachel, but I'm not like her."

"Aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just saying, you look like a girl that knows how to have fun. And it's a shame you're wasting your time with that Scott loser."

"Lucas is not a loser!" Brooke replied haughtily.

"Actually… I was referring to Nathan." Felix smirked.

Brooke gulped at her mistake. "Just… just shut up!"

The door opened and Lucas sat down back in his seat. "I've got them," he said showing a bag to Felix, but Felix didn't reply. He just kept grinning like an idiot.

Lucas turned to look at Brooke and the expression he saw on her face made him worry, instantly forgetting how mad he was with her. "What's wrong?" He asked her, turning with an accusatory glance to look at Felix.

"We were just talking about you actually," he replied still smirking.

"I said shut up!" Brooke yelled from behind.

Lucas looked more than just worried now. "What the hell happened! Brooke?"

"Felix was being an ass, as usual," Brooke hurriedly replied. 

"Why thank you, but it was not me who said that."

Lucas stole another look at Brooke, who was biting her lower lip and looking at him pleadingly. "Just start the car, Felix," he said firmly, "This is taking us forever." 

Brooke nodded gratefully and Felix wanted to argue, but after seeing the look on Lucas' face, he changed his mind. After all, so far he was really getting to both of them. If only someone else was there to see it all, their secret would be out. But he still had a whole night to work on that. So he finally started the car and turned up the volume on the stereo.

_I like big butts and I can not lie_

_You other brothers can't deny_

_That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist_

_And a round thing in your face_

"Oh, this one is one of my favorites," he chimed referring to the song.

"And if you say that this also reminds you of me, I swear I'll help Lucas kill you!" Brooke threatened all too seriously and Lucas just chuckled all the time wondering what Felix could have possibly said to make her that angry and… scared. Because he was sure that he saw fear in her eyes when he walked back to the car. 

* * *

"That 't' looks like a cross."

"Seriously, Haley, one more word and I'll-" Rachel said exasperated, stopping her work and placing her hands on her lap as she raised her head from her kneeling position to face Haley, who was hovering over her head to inspect the 'job' she was doing. 

"Keep it down!" Nathan hissed interrupting yet another fight that was bound to erupt. He could almost feel for poor Rachel, and that was saying something! But Haley had been driving both of them crazy insisting that the letters should be well formed and clear. Somehow as soon as they got started, Haley seemed to overcome her fear bit by bit and she started taking this whole painting thing a tidbit too seriously, in his opinion. But it was Haley after all, always the perfectionist.

"We want this to look good, right? We want it at least to be readable?"

"This is not a calligraphy contest, for God's sake!" Rachel groaned. "Nathan, keep her away from me, or I swear I'll kill her!"

Nathan chuckled. "Hales, c'mon, work on that 'y'."

"I've finished it! And unlike your 'y', mine actually looks like a 'y'!"

"Hey, what's wrong with mine? I think it looks pretty damn cool!" Nathan replied indignantly as he got to his feet and inspected his 'Y' with pride. Okay, so it leaned a bit to the left… and it wasn't that symmetric, the bottom line was way too thick in comparison with the two above, but it sure looked like a 'Y' to him.

Haley rolled her eyes and looked at Rachel, who was also getting up. 

"I'm done! And I don't give a shit if you think it looks like a cross, a plus or whatever!" She snapped before Haley had time to tell her that she needed to work more on her letter. "We're done, right? Let's just get the photo and get out of here!" Kneeling on the grass and spray painting was sure not Rachel's idea of fun She at least hoped the next dare would be more entertaining. They should have fixed the dares as well, now who knew what they would get next!

"I haven't finished with that 'W' yet," Haley protested pointing to the letter. Both Nathan and Rachel glanced at the letter and then looked back at Haley weirdly.

"Um, it looks finished to me," Nathan shrugged.

"No! Can't you see the left edge reaches lower than the others?"

It was Rachel's turn to roll her eyes. No wonder she had done five letters, Nathan six and Haley no more than three! She was taking forever to finish each of them, always going back because they just didn't seem right!

"Hales, it really looks fine," Nathan said stifling a chuckle as he came to the same conclusions with Rachel. He had to admit though, Haley's letters looked a lot better than theirs, but as Rachel had said, and this time he had to agree, this was certainly not a calligraphy contest.

"If Peyton was here she would agree with me!" Haley huffed in disappointment.

"It looks like we're not that artistically challenged," Nathan grinned. He thanked his lucky stars Peyton was not with them.

"Are you sure it looks okay? Just give me a couple of more minutes," she pleaded.

"Nathan, take the damn photo, before I scream!" Was all Rachel had to say to settle the matter. 

* * *

The carnival was set up a few miles out of town and the area around it was submerged in deep darkness, the only light coming from the faint moon. 

"Good thing we brought the flashlights," Brooke commented as Lucas handed both her and Felix one and kept the last one for himself. "So how are we going to get in?" She asked looking at the barred fence that surrounded the carnival.

"We'll have to climb over the bars," Felix said with a shrug.

"Wh-what!" Brooke exclaimed. "Have you seen my boots?" She asked incredulously lifting her leg from the ground to showcase her black leather boots…her stiletto black leather boots.

"I wasn't actually looking at the boots…" Felix said with a sly grin.

"Watch it!" Lucas snapped immediately with a warning tone, but Felix just rolled his eyes. He was getting tired of this! 

"Maybe we can have a look around, see if there is anyway else we can get in," Lucas suggested.

"Great idea!" Brooke exclaimed happily.

"We would only be wasting our time," Felix whined.

"Well, we're going to try!" Brooke said stomping her foot. "And to do it faster we should split up. Felix you go that way, and Lucas and I will go this way." She said pointing to two opposites sides of the fence.

Felix was about to argue but Lucas cut him off. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"I…nah…forget it. Let's do this."

The three of them started making their way in opposite directions. Just as soon they had turned the first corner and Brooke was sure they were out of Felix's earshot she turned to Lucas with a look of complete despair and frustration.

"I can't stand him anymore!" She said in exasperation.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was me you couldn't stand," he said challengingly.

"Yeah, tough choice. I can't stand either of you, but if I had to choose, I guess I would take you," Brooke said with a defeated shrug.

"Geez…I feel so loved," he mocked.

"Lucas!" She playfully pushed him.

"Okay!" He chuckled. "You know I can't stand him either. If it weren't for you I think I would have beaten the crap out of him."

"Trust me, I'm tempted myself." Brooke grunted.

"Then why did you… I mean…why…?" He said confused.

"Why did I get angry at you?" Brooke asked raising an eyebrow.

Lucas nodded.

"Don't you think I was right to?" She asked again.

"Okay, so maybe I overreacted a little but the things he said… I just, I can't let him talk to you like that!" He said raising his head defiantly and getting ready for another one of her outbursts but the look in her eyes shocked him. He could see gratitude.

"I can handle him…" She assured. "Most of the times at least." She muttered in conclusion and Lucas smiled. "But the thing is Luke, I think he suspects something."

"He suspects what?"

"He suspects there's something going on between us."

"Us?" Lucas repeated dumbfounded. "But how?"

Brooke shrugged. "Just think about the things he told you. Actually think about them."

Lucas paused for a while to think and muttered a curse. "How?" He repeated.

"I don't know. I think he and Rachel knew something since the party last week."

"The party?"

"Yeah, do you think they sent us up to that room by accident? Wasn't that a bit too convenient?"

And then suddenly, a light turned on in Lucas' head. "Holy shit! Why didn't you say anything!"

"I thought it would be okay. They couldn't know anything for sure, since nothing had happened…" She paused looking down. "At least not till then," she quietly whispered and Lucas stared at her intently but she just shrugged and went on. "But all the things you said before were only confirming his suspicions and that's why I was so frustrated."

Lucas nodded. "You know, this only makes me want to hurt him even more."

"Turning all macho on me again?" Brooke giggled and Lucas shook his head.

"Since you seem to have the brains, at least I can offer the muscles."

Brooke just laughed at that. 

"I can't believe I didn't see this before," he said shaking his head. "Do you think that's why we ended up on the same team? So he could watch us?"

"I don't know, if they somehow fixed this, then they're better than I thought they were. But I admit it makes sense."

"So what do we do now?"

"Just try and keep your cool. And I will try to think of a way to get rid of him." 

"As we've established, you have the brains." Lucas agreed and they kept on their walk around the fence.

* * *

It had taken them some time but they were back in the cosmetics aisle again. After the way Peyton had 'helped' Jake, Skillz decided to do this on his own but still three opportunities had risen and he had chickened out all three times. Peyton was starting to get irritated again, but this time Skillz had made sure Jake was right beside her so he could catch her if she decided to 'help' again. Not that Jake was being any more supportive. Since he had his turn in being humiliated he was looking forward to seeing Skillz go through the same. So it was when a middle aged woman appeared in the aisle and stood in front of the shelves with the objects in question that Skillz was being shoved forcefully and before he had time to react he was standing right beside her. 

He stood there uneasily and sent a helpless look at Jake that just chuckled. Heartless jerk! The lady turned and looked at Skillz curiously.

"Can I help you with something, young man?" She asked kindly. 

Skillz gulped, now was his chance. But the only thing he managed was to nod his head and dart his eyes in Jake and Peyton's direction again. They just nodded to him to go on. Sensing his nervousness the woman spoke again.

"Did your girlfriend send you here to buy something for her?" She asked sympathetically. "If you tell me what she asked for maybe I can help you," the woman suggested encouragingly.

"Erm, thank you, I'd appreciate it. But…" He hesitated dreading the next words that were about to come out of his mouth.

"Yes?" She prodded.

"Actually, I'm not sure, what type of … tampons I should get," he mumbled quickly pointing to the dreadful product while staring intently at the floor.

The woman smiled. "Okay, did she ask for any particular brand?"

"No, erm… well, actually, I was wondering what size would be suitable for… for… well, for me." He said cringing at his own words.

The smile left the woman's face immediately. "You!" She shrieked and took a step back. And then before Skillz had time to flee her handbag collided with his back. 

"Whoaa—" He yelped also retreating in fear.

"You little pervert! Get out of here, before I call security!" The enraged woman yelled now, managing another hit on his shoulder as he ran away.

He reached their car panting and soon Peyton and Jake arrived as well. 

"Dude, that was hilarious!" Jake managed through his laughter.

"Did you get the damn picture?" Skillz asked aggravated.

Peyton shook her head affirmative, not able to talk because of the hysterical laughter, and handed him her cell to see his self being hit by the handbag, a look of utter fear on his face. 

"We'd better win this thing," he muttered making a note to make sure Peyton deleted that picture as soon as this stupid dare night was over.

* * *

"So…" Lucas trailed off.

"I know there is no other way around it, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about this! I'm going to break my neck!" Brooke whined.

They had just circled around the fence and met up with Felix in the back, only to come to the realization that there was no other option than climbing over the bars.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Lucas smiled at her.

"We both will," Felix corrected.

"Fine… let's get this over with! How are you going to help me?"

"Hm…" Felix remarked staring at her ass.

"Are you that sexually frustrated!" Brooke mocked disgusted.

"I just know a good thing when I see it."

Lucas muttered something under his breath, but apparently took Brooke's advice and didn't interfere again. Felix approached the bars. "Well, one of us will climb over first and the other one will stay behind to help you up, while the first one will help you down, once you get on the top."

Brooke bit her lip tracing her hand over the bars. "They look a bit slippery." 

"You can do it, I'll pass first." Lucas urged her and easily climbed over the bars and slipped on the other side.

"Your turn," Felix gestured and Brooke came close and grabbed the top of the bars to pull herself up. Felix followed and was ready to put his hands on her…

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Brooke snapped turning her head abruptly to face him.

"What? I have to push you up somehow?" Felix said with a cheeky grin.

"If you put a finger on my ass I'm gonna cut off much more than your hand!"

"He tried to do what!" Lucas yelled from the other side. 

"Geez! How am I supposed to help then?"

"Put your hands together so I can step on them!" Brooke fumed.

"Oh, now why didn't I think of that?" He said with a goofy grin and did as Brooke instructed. 

She took a hold of the bars once again, and putting one foot into his hands, started to pull herself up. "And quit staring at my ass!" She barked glancing down at Felix who rolled his eyes in response. She finally managed to hoist herself on top of the bars and awkwardly drape her body around the top bar.

"C'mon Brooke, slide your other leg over this side," Lucas instructed from below her.

"Easy for you to say! We should have stopped by my place so I could change… What the fuck was I thinking…"

"C'mon, you can do it," he reassured her.

Brooke looked down at him. "I think I'm going to fall."

"You're not going to fall; I'm going to catch you."

"Lukeee…"

"Brookee…" He mocked.

"Are you two done?" Felix said frustrated.

"Aw, just shut up, why don't you!" Brooke huffed and with a quick motion slid her leg on the other side which caused a shift in her weight and her body tilting to that side. She tried to grab the bars, but as she had said, those bastards were too slippery, so letting out a small shriek and closing her eyes she felt herself falling and…

"Got ya," Lucas said quietly and Brooke opened her eyes to find herself in his arms, her own clinging to his neck. 

"Thanks," she rasped as he lowered her so she could step down. 

Lucas just stared at her trying to understand why she felt so damn right in his arms every single time, when having her would be so damn wrong. Similar thoughts were running through her head. How safe she felt in his arms and the risks that came by being in them.

"Let's get going, which ride do you think we should get working?" Felix's gruff voice snapped both of them back to reality.

"Hm… the Ferris wheel!" Brooke giggled clapping her hands.

"The Ferris wheel?" Lucas asked in shock.

"Yes! It used to be my favorite ride! And it will be the most impressive one if we do it, the lights will be visible from the town!" Brooke explained to both of them.

"Ah…of course, that way the cops can see us from afar!" Lucas teased her.

"Chicken," Felix fake coughed.

Brooke glared at him and turned back to Lucas. "We will be long gone way before they get here, if they do that is."

Lucas threw an evil glance at Felix and then a smile formed on his lips. "Fine, let's try the Ferris wheel."

"Yay!" Brooke jumped excitedly and the three started walking towards the wheel.

Lucas walked closer to Brooke and as Felix was leading the way he quickly whispered in her ear. "You're afraid of heights." 

"What?" She asked her eyebrow shooting up in question.

"Trust me," he said just as Felix turned back to motion for them to hurry up and Brooke nodded bewildered.

They reached the Ferris wheel and after jumbling a little with the rusty lock on the operation cabin Felix and Lucas were able to open it. Lucas apparently was the one more mechanically inclined, since he had worked with cars as he told Felix… and Brooke wondered what that had to do with operating the Ferris wheel, but decided to keep her mouth shut. Five minutes later, with Lucas trying out various switches with no success, they heard him yell in triumph. "Uh-huh!" At the same moment the Ferris wheel lights lit up.

"Way to go, Luke!" Brooke cheered.

"Yeah… great job, I could have done it in two minutes," Felix muttered. 

"So I think I can operate this thing, you two go up so we can take the pictures," Lucas said deciding to ignore Felix. He wouldn't have to put up with him for much longer anyway.

"Okay, let's go Brooke," Felix said offering her his hand.

"Actually, I can't," Brooke said biting her lip like she was embarrassed.

"Why the hell not?" Felix asked.

"Um… you see…it's …" she stammered.

"Yes?" Felix asked impatiently.

"I'm sort of afraid of heights." She said in one quick breath lowering her head and Lucas almost erupted in laughter admiring her acting skills.

"Didn't you just say that the Ferris wheel used to be your favorite ride?"

"Exactly!" Brooke exclaimed nodding her head, "Used to… Until one time I got up there and…" She trailed off looking embarrassed again.

"And?" Lucas asked intrigued, wanting to see what she would come up with.

"And I kind of threw up while I was on the top… and not in my seat if you know what I mean," she finished with a lame look.

Lucas no longer held his laughter and Felix joined him though he actually thought the story to be true.

"Argh! You both suck!" Brooke said pretending to be hurt.

"Fine, fine, I'll go up. You take the picture." Felix nodded handing her the cell and Brooke nodded though still keeping a scowl on her face.

Felix got on one of the gondolas and Lucas walked back to the operation cabin and started the ride. Brooke came to stand next to him.

"Now do you care to explain why I just embarrassed myself by making up a ridiculous story like that?"

"You still haven't figured it out?" Lucas asked with a secretive smile.

"C'mon, Luke!" Brooke pleaded sticking out her bottom lip.

At that moment Felix was just reaching the top and Lucas pulled a lever to stop the wheel. "Take the photo," he instructed and Brooke went out and snapped a photo of Felix that was grinning and waving at her.

"I wish you were up here, Brooke, it looks great!" He yelled.

"I'm glad you like it," Lucas yelled from below in reply as he got out of the cabin and stood next to Brooke. "Since you'll be spending quite some time there," he concluded with a sardonic grin.

"What are you talking about?" Felix asked in confusion and starting to get a little scared. But Lucas Scott, the damn Boy Scout, wouldn't do something like that now, would he?

"Noo!" Brooke exclaimed bringing her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened in surprise. 

"Bye, bye, Felix! Don't worry, as I said the cops should be here shortly!" Lucas yelled and taking Brooke's hand he nodded to her. "Let's get out of here!"

"You wouldn't dare! Get me down right this instant!" Felix yelled enraged as the situation finally registered to him.

Brooke nodded enthusiastically. "Bye Felix, enjoy the view!" She yelled mockingly and followed Lucas, who was leading her to the fence.

"You're gonna pay for this Scott! You're both going to pay for this!" Felix's voice echoed behind them.


	27. A Road That Leads To…?

_**AN: **_Hey! Yes your eyes don't deceive you, this is an actual update! I know I'm horrible, I know it's been insanely long since I last updated… I know you probably have forgotten this fic even exists… but there's not much I can do except say again how truly sorry I am.

The reason for the delay is pretty simple: writer's block. I don't need to elaborate on this, do I? I can't say I'm completely over it, so this chapter is actually a way to help me remember why I love writing this fic and hopefully get me my inspiration back. That's why this chapter is focused solely on a certain couple. I bet you can guess which couple that is… I hope you enjoy it, and this is another way of saying sorry.

A huge thanks to Cinthana who had to put up with my whining about not being able to get this right… and for helping me to finally get it right (as right as I can at least)! And thank you to Lindsay for also reading the different versions of this chapter and helping me steer it to the right direction!

Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed the last chapter! Since I've been writing this for so long it helps so much to know that people are still interested in seeing what's happening! So thank you to everyone that has been so patient with me!

Just to remind you where we are… at the party after the first game of the season, Rachel proposed a dare night and the gang agreed. So the three teams (BLF-RNH-JPS) went out separately to do three dares. The first dare was completed at the previous chapter and it left Felix on the Ferris wheel and Lucas and Brooke at the carnival.

And here we go… please read and review! Now that inspiration is kind of low I really need to hear your thoughts!

* * *

_**Chapter 27**_

_**A road that leads to…?**_

"Oh, my God! I still can't believe you did that!" Brooke exclaimed jumping up and down on her seven inch heels, and clapping her hands, making Lucas realize just how appropriate the nickname his best friend had given to her was.

He smiled at her somewhat shyly, and then turned his attention back to the fence they still had to climb over if they wanted to leave the carnival. He could still hear Felix screaming behind them, and that was just another reason for the smile etched on his face.

"I'd never thought you would do something like that!" Brooke gashed with a wide smile. "I mean, I didn't see you capable of something so…so…" She hesitated trying to find the right word.

"Brilliant?" Lucas filled in, smirking smugly.

"I was thinking more of the lines of sneaky and mean, and childish and…"

"Okay!" He stopped her raising his hands and giving her a fake pout.

Brooke giggled still in wonder of the boy standing next to her. She had to admit he had managed to amaze her once again. Sure, some would say that would he did was all the things she had just told him, but she was more inclined to agree with him. It was brilliant, and it made him look incredibly sexy! Which was so not what she should be thinking about at that time when it was just the two of them left alone out there.

"Really, Lucas, this was so… not you!" She anyway continued unable to mask her excitement.

"Who's the one putting the labels now?" Lucas asked teasingly.

Brooke's mouth fell open. He remembered? She shook her head. "It's not that, but I should have come up with this idea! Not you!"

"I'm full of surprises…" He trailed off turning again at the bars. The way she looked at him, with her eyes filled with excitement and something akin to admiration, made him incredibly happy. He wondered if her amazement would last when she realized where his actions had left them. And he wasn't talking about climbing over the fence, but to what awaited after that… or more to the point, what didn't wait. To be honest, he didn't take the time to really think through this, and kind of acted on the spur of the moment. He was really surprised Felix had actually fallen for it that easily. He hadn't even thought that this would mean he and Brooke would be left alone out there, but now that it'd happened he couldn't say he was complaining, especially since she seemed to be so happy about what he had done. Another thing that took him completely by surprise. To be honest, he was expecting her any minute now to start accusing him that he did all this just to get her alone. But first thing, first, and with Felix still yelling, they really needed to get out of there.

"C'mon," he motioned with his hand for her to come closer.

Brooke approached and looked at the fence with distain. "Here we go again," she muttered and then took a step back. "How are we going to do this without Felix?" She asked in slight panic.

"Yeah, well," Lucas looked back and forth between the fence and the beautiful girl. "I'll help you up, and then you'll wait for me to climb over and get you down. Okay?" He asked hesitantly.

"As long as I don't have that creep staring up my ass, it sounds great!" Brooke nodded thinking about Felix and his slimy hands that were trying to get all over her.

Lucas let out a relieved sigh. Maybe she would take the next part as happily as this. He approached the fence and joined his hands for Brooke to step on.

Brooke came close and again used the bars to lift herself up, stepping on his hands. While she was up she glanced down at him. "Are you staring?" She asked playfully, still caught up in the excitement that Lucas' little trick had caused her.

"What?! No! Of course not!" Lucas protested getting red and turning his eyes from her legs to her face.

"Because I wouldn't mind if you did," she whispered back with a slight shrug and a small smile, and turning her head around finally pulled herself all the way up. Sometimes she just couldn't help herself, and he just looked too cute when he was squirming.

"I…" Lucas mumbled surprised. What the hell, when did they come back to that? She used to be like that all the time when they first met and were trying to be friends, but after her and Nathan got together…

"Are you going to stand there all night?" She asked again trying to get steady lying along the long bar.

He just shook his head and quickly climbed over. This time Brooke managed to get her body around the other side without toppling over, and just hang with her hands gripping the top bar. She felt his warm hands gripping her waist gently but firmly, gracing the bare skin that was exposed between her skirt and top and hardly managed to disguise the sigh that escaped her lips. Letting go of her grip on the bars she let him lower her to the ground. She turned around to face him and realized just how close to him she had landed. Their eyes locked, and they stood there for a few seconds both saying nothing. Finally, Brooke smiled at him a little awkwardly mumbling something that she wished resembled a thank you. Not that he would actually make out anything she had said anyway, he was too engrossed in fighting the urge to take her back in his arms and keep her there forever. He noticed her walking to Felix's car and slowly trailed behind her. And then was when it hit her.

Swiveling backwards she stared at him with wide eyes. "Lucas?" She demanded.

Lucas grinned innocently. "I don't suppose you have his keys either, right?"

* * *

"I have the dares," Brooke yelled waving the envelopes in her hand around. "I even have his stupid cell! If you had let me in, in your little plan, I'm sure I would have been able to get his keys as well!" She fumed pacing in front of the locked car, like she had been doing for the past five minutes, the awkward moment and the excitement from before long forgotten.

"We've been drinking too much to be driving anyway," Lucas said with a shrug refusing stubbornly to admit that he hadn't thought about the car before then.

"Lucas! We're stranded! What do you suggest we do, fly out of here?" She snapped sarcastically.

"We can always walk?" He offered with another shrug.

"Are you kidding me?! We are miles away from anything!"

"Look, if you want we can just get him down, and then the princess won't have to walk a square!" He replied in an angry tone already fed up with the fit she was throwing.

"I don't want to get him down, Lucas! I'm just saying that you should have thought better about this!"

"Well, what do you want me to do now?!" He asked exasperated. He had tried to be the reasonable one, after all, it was mostly his fault they had lost their ride, not that he was going to admit that to Brooke, but enough was enough! So they didn't have a car anymore, he still couldn't see why she was making such a fuss about it!

"Argh! Why are you getting so defensive?!"

He just scowled in response and Brooke huffed.

"Look," he said with a sigh running his hand through his hair, a desperate attempt not to let her mood swings affect him. "We can walk to the mall. It's only a couple of miles from here. From there we can easily get a cab for our homes or Tim's."

"What about the dares?" Brooke interrupted.

"You still want to go through with that?" He asked in disbelief.

"Duh! I'm not giving up and let Rach-ho win!"

"What's up with the two of you anyway?" He asked genuinely interested.

"She's a skank!"

"How mature…" Lucas piped in sarcastically. "C'mon, there must be a reason you hate each other."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Like you have a reason for hating Felix?"

"He's an ass!" Lucas protested and then realizing that he sounded exactly like Brooke, shook his head. She was grinning in victory. "Touché, Davis," he relented.

Brooke sighed and looked at the dark road ahead of them. She then glanced down to the envelopes in her hands. "Can I at least take a peek?"

"Go ahead," Lucas prodded and walked closer to her pointing his flashlight to her hands.

Brooke smiled excitedly and opened the second envelope. "What?!" She shrieked startling Lucas.

"What does it say?"

"Okay, we're so done with these dares…" She replied shaking her head and hastily shoving the paper back into the envelope.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter, we can't do it; we should just go home…"

"Okay, now I really want to know what that dare says," Lucas repeated shaking his head.

"It's not important, we have no car and—Hey!" She was cut off by Lucas snatching the envelope out of her hands. "Lucas!" She whined stomping her foot down again and reaching out to get the envelope back.

"Just let me read this," Lucas protested with laughter raising his hands above his head so that Brooke couldn't reach them. Her reaction was making him really curious. And he wouldn't complain about her attempts to get the envelope back that had her almost jumping at him, either.

"Argh! Fine! But I'm telling you now, there is no way in hell I'm doing it!" She relented stubbornly stepping away from him. She hated giving up so easily, but as she reached to get the envelope out of his raised hands she noticed how close to his body that had brought her. His scent that had managed to become so familiar to her in such a short amount of time engulfed her and her only option was to step back.

"Hm…" Lucas mumbled in thought obviously not convinced by the way she had given up so easily and a little disappointed, he might as well admit it. Making sure she was not going to try anything again, he carefully pulled the dare out of the envelope again. He quickly skimmed through it and raised a surprised head up to face Brooke. "How the fuck does he come up with these things?" He wondered.

"He's one sick creep!" Brooke replied relieved that Lucas seemed to agree with her decision not to go through with the dare.

"I wouldn't go that far," Lucas objected. "It sounds kind of fun, actually," he smiled in amusement recalling her earlier words about the first dare.

Brooke looked at him in disbelief. "Fun? Kissing a snake is your idea of fun?"

"It doesn't say _I_ have to kiss a snake," Lucas corrected while his grin only grew wider.

Brooke frowned. "Yeah, well, the girls on your team are in no way kissing any snakes tonight!"

"Scared?" Lucas asked raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"I'm not scared!" Brooke denied fervently. "But it's…yack… a snake, like really gross and slimy and…" She paused with a disgusted grimace and then her mouth twitched in a smile. "Hey, if Felix would have been here we could go through with that dare in no time!"

"Huh?"

"I could kiss him?" Brooke giggled, and Lucas laughed out loud. "Maybe he had that in his mind all along…" She continued sounding serious and Lucas could only laugh louder seeing her. "But now that he isn't here…well, whatever. So we're walking to the mall?"

"I really see no other choice, Brooke. C'mon, it's not that far away, we'll be there before you know it," he encouraged her.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one that will have to walk on these heels!" She whined exaggeratedly.

"Oh, c'mon, you're a tough girl, I'm sure you can handle it," Lucas said with a smile and taking a few steps forward stopped to turn back and look at Brooke expectantly.

Brooke let out a miserable sigh and followed him. When she reached him he smiled at her again.

"Suck up," Brooke muttered begrudgingly, but Lucas only laughed as the two made their way along the dark road.

* * *

The road, if someone was kind enough to call it that, was a dirt road full of huge rocks and holes, Brooke had to be careful to avoid at each step. The streetlights were rare and didn't really do a great job in lighting their way. They actually had to use the flashlights occasionally, but Lucas cautioned her to limit their use, because the batteries were about to run out. Freaking awesome! Anything else that might go wrong? So to sum it up, it was dark and awfully quiet and just plain deserted, not her ideal setting, not her ideal setting at all. And those were only the least of her problems.

Brooke was actually partly thankful for the dreadful condition of the road since it kept her distracted and prevented her from thinking about the other aspect of her predicament: walking on an empty dark road, miles from everywhere and everyone (yeah, ok, she tended to be a tad dramatic) with Lucas Scott of all people. As soon as she realized that abandoning Felix on the Ferris wheel, as fun as it was, had left the two of them alone, she felt her nerves getting the better of her again, and all the excitement evaporated. She couldn't help but think about the last time the two of them had found themselves alone. And what had happened then? They had kissed. Actually, he had kissed her, but it was not like she actually fought him against it. Quite the contrary. The problem was she knew that had he tried again, she wouldn't have the strength or will to fight him this time either, no matter how much she had tried to convince herself for the opposite. But the thing was, she didn't really think he would try again, not the way he had been avoiding her the whole week. And her biggest problem lied in the immense sadness that realization brought her.

They hadn't said another word after she agreed with him to walk to the mall, and the best word to describe their little moonlight stroll would be awkward. They were even avoiding looking at each other. She wondered if she should break the silence or not. Judging by their past history, silence was probably the best option.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" She asked anyway looking ahead of them where she wished for any kind of light, but was only met by more darkness.

"Yeah, don't you remember, this is the road we followed to get here," Lucas responded turning to glance at her briefly.

Brooke shrugged still keeping her eyes on the road ahead of them. She hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings when they were driving there. Her thoughts were, no surprise here, consumed by a certain blond blue-eyed boy that at the time at least was once again mad at her. Her thoughts were now again on the same boy, except from the attention she had to pay to where she was walking if she didn't want to fall flat on her face. She took a quick look around her and again affirmed that their surroundings were at best intimidating. Brooke was more of a city girl, walking in the darkness amidst fields and abandoned yards was not her cup of tea. She wasn't scared though, and the reason was him again. Everything seemed to come back to him. Just his presence made her feel safe. Even when they weren't talking, just feeling him next to her and the occasional brush of their hands, which sent a swarm of butterflies fluttering in her stomach, had a calming effect on her. Weird, if you considered how nervous it also made her.

Lucas waited for her to say something more, but when after a few seconds nothing came and she seemed to concentrate back on keeping her balance, he also returned to his own thoughts. He had contemplated offering her his help walking, because of the condition of the road, but he had changed his mind. She would probably turn it down, claiming she was doing fine by herself, and he was sick of being turned down by her. He had also contemplated talking to her. He had been the one avoiding her, sure, but that didn't mean he actually wanted to. She was the one that forced him with her behavior. He had so many questions to ask her, but he was one hundred percent certain that if he tried, the only thing he would accomplish would be her running away from him. Even though he could see she was slightly apprehensive of their surroundings, he would bet she wouldn't hesitate a moment to run alone in the darkness if he cornered her. So he stayed silent, just enjoying being there with her.

Venturing a side glance at his face, Brooke wondered what he could be thinking about. Was he happy like her that they had this chance to spend some time together even if it was under these weird conditions? Because she had to admit, despite her fears and the loads of apprehension what she mostly felt was happy to just be there walking with him. At least she got to spend some time together with him, and he didn't act like her mere presence made him disgusted. He had smiled and laughed with her, and Brooke had longed for that the last week so much. He was looking straight ahead now, and his face was partly covered by the shadows of the flickering street light, but he seemed deeply concentrated on something.

"It's so dark…" She mumbled looking around her.

Lucas took a look around and noticed that she was right; the streetlights were even more far apart where they were walking now.

"It's okay," he reassured her. "Are you scared?" He asked worried noticing how she had wrapped her arms around herself.

"No…" Brooke replied not that convincingly. She was scared, scared of the way he was making her feel when he did absolutely nothing at all, just by being there next to her. Of how she imagined herself always walking next to him. Being there alone with him in the darkness was the perfect setting to let herself get lost in dangerous illusions. Like, that there was just the two of them, and that none of the things, of the people, that prevented her from giving in to what she wanted actually existed.

"You know, we can call someone to come and pick us up?" He suggested.

"Oh! Of course! How stupid! How come we didn't think of it any sooner?" She asked mostly herself, but then realized that this would only mean their little stroll would be over. And it was not like she was having the time of her life, but she doubted she would be given the chance to spend any time with him again any time soon.

"Erm… it would be a little difficult to explain exactly where we are, of course. And they will wonder where Felix is," Lucas also struggled to find any excuse possible. Sure, if she was really scared he didn't want them to stay there, but on the other hand, this was the closest he had been with her in ages!

"Plus, most of our friends are wasted in the party, so…" Brooke agreed with him.

"So we keep going?" He asked and berated himself for the hopefulness that was obvious through his voice.

"Sure, I mean we're bound to be getting near, right?"

Lucas nodded and they just kept walking in silence again.

He had to thank Felix if he had anything to do with how the teams were assigned, in the first place. If only he had known he would end up stranded on a Ferris wheel. Lucas surprised even himself when he decided to let Felix up there. It wasn't like Felix would be harmed in any way he had reasoned with himself, only after they had left the carnival behind them. The chance that cops would show up was highly unlike, and even if they did, Felix had in times gotten himself into much worse trouble and his dad was able to bail him out. So it was just a harmless joke, a prank. Nathan had done similar things countless times, but Lucas always prided himself as being more level-headed. And he could blame Felix's annoying behavior all he wanted, but he knew that any other time he would just ignore Felix's comments no matter how much they bugged him. But the girl walking next to him now had changed all that. To watch Felix flirt with Brooke, even if she was rebuking all his efforts was unbearable. Almost as bad as watching her making out with Nathan. It just didn't look right. The only person he could imagine being right to flirt with her, kiss her, be with her was…

"Do you think we should call someone to come and pick Felix up?" He asked after they had taken a few more steps deciding to give it a shot. He usually had no problems with silence, but silence left room for lots of thinking and dreaming… and fantasizing…and he really shouldn't let himself do any of that when the object of his fantasies was so close within his reach. Plus, he had missed talking to her, and the little time they had spent at the carnival had only reminded him of how much he used to enjoy it. So after hesitating for a while, he decided to try and start up some kind of conversation. He imagined Felix was a safe enough topic for both of them.

"Nah, not yet. Maybe after we get to the mall. We don't want him to catch up with us before that."

"Hm…yeah, you're right," he agreed.

"Who are you going to call?" Brooke asked.

"Oh, I was thinking of calling Anna."

"Yeah, I guess his sister would be forced to come and get him. They are family after all," Brooke giggled.

Lucas smiled and the silence returned as she turned her head forward again. So much for that topic, he thought again dejectedly. She obviously had no intention of talking to him.

"What do you think the others are doing now? How far do you think they have gotten?" Brooke asked turning to him and biting her lip nervously.

She had been thinking about talking to him for a while now, but couldn't come up with anything to say. With so many topics she needed to avoid, there wasn't much left, was there? When he asked about Felix, he had taken her by surprise, because she honestly thought that he didn't want anything to do with her or that he was just tired of her contradictive behavior. She would be in his place, not that Lucas himself was an open book. He was equally frustrating as her at times. But when she found herself unable to find something to continue the conversation she had silently kicked herself. She just wanted them to get back to how they were in the carnival, some friendly talk was better than this tense filled silence she had tried to convince herself.

"Oh, uh…" Lucas stuttered completely shocked she seemed willing to start another conversation and then silently cursed himself. What was the big deal? She was probably just bored and wanted to talk to pass the time, which was fine with him. All he wanted to do was talk to her, this week he had even missed the sound of her voice. How pathetically love sick, was he? So after ordering his self to get it together already, he took a look at his wrist watch. "It's been more than an hour, so if nothing has gone terribly wrong, I'd say they're probably in the middle of the second dare."

"I wonder what they were supposed to do…" She said turning her attention back to the road.

"Who knows?" Lucas shrugged, "I have no idea what else Felix could have come up with."

Brooke nodded, but kept her eyes in front of her. She saw another subject dying down and almost screamed in frustration.

"I keep thinking how Hales is coping," he said with a chuckle pleasantly surprising Brooke.

"Oh God, yes! I thought she was going to kill me when she got on Rachel's team!" She giggled remembering Haley's reaction.

"Yeah, she's not her favorite person," Lucas nodded with a smile. "And I could have said the same thing about you just a few days ago, but… what the hell happened?" He asked turning to look at Brooke curiously, but with a warm smile still adorning his face.

Brooke laughed taking a quick glance at his handsome face. God, she had missed that smile so much. "What do you mean?" She asked feigning ignorance. "Nothing happened."

"Uh-huh, one day she thinks you're…" Lucas paused unsure of what to say.

"A manipulative brainless slut?" Brooke provided in question.

"No! I wasn't going to say that! She never said that!" He protested mentally slapping himself, the last thing he wanted was to screw up things with Brooke and Haley with his big mouth now that they've finally seemed to get along. He had done that enough already with all the lies he had told Haley about his meeting with Brooke.

"It's alright, Lucas, I know what Haley thought about me; she made it more than clear. But, let's say she had a change of heart," she stated with a reassuring smile.

He let out a quiet sigh in relief. "I can see she had a change of heart. What I'm asking you is what brought that change of heart?"

"Shouldn't you be asking her that?" Brooke replied not willing to talk about what Haley had heard and made her change her mind. She still didn't understand why that had made such an impression on Haley.

"I guess," Lucas agreed looking at her curiously not understanding why she wouldn't say. "What about you, then?"

"What about me?"

"Well, you knew how she felt about you, why did you forgive her so easily?" He questioned.

Brooke stopped walking and looked at him confused. "Forgive her?"

Lucas looked as confused as Brooke. "You said she thought you were a…" He shook his head not wanting to repeat Brooke's words. "She had hastily judged you, quite unfairly," he finally managed.

Brooke smiled sadly. "Ninety-nine percent of the kids in the school think the same things about me. Haley was one of the honest ones that didn't pretend to like me despite of them. Why would I hold that against her?"

Lucas nodded in understanding. "She was also smart enough to give you a chance," he continued with a smile.

Brooke smiled as well. "She is smart, she's very smart."

"I always knew you liked her," Lucas said knowingly.

Brooke looked down a bit embarrassed.

"And I knew she was going to like you too, if she'd only give you a chance."

"Lucas Scott knows just about everything right?" She asked back teasingly.

"No," he said with a chuckle, "but I do know Haley."

Brooke agreed silently with a smile, but Lucas went on. "And I think I know you," he finished with a quiet voice.

Brooke lowered her eyes. "You only think that you do…" She answered back quietly.

Lucas expected that answer, but he expected for it to come out more defiantly or more challengingly. Instead, it was hesitant and sad and it only peaked his interest, but he didn't know how to protest or even if he would be right to.

"You, and Haley and probably Nathan, you all think that you know me and that I'm different from what people think," Brooke continued not really surprising herself that much. It was fast becoming a habit, every time she talked to him, that desire to just spill her guts was just overwhelming. She did feel somewhat guilty when all the people she just met seemed to think so highly of her. They had no idea who she was and they would only see her like Rachel or worse if they knew half the things she had done, and sadly, continued to do.

"You are," Lucas insisted with a smile that turned into a frown when Brooke shook her head no.

"I'm not, Lucas," she smiled looking straight ahead of her. "You didn't know me back when I was here, but you've heard the rumors, right?"

"I don't listen to rumors."

"Well, you should," Brooke said softly. "I've done most of the things they say I did. And you all have no idea of the things I did in California, not even Peyton knows some of those things."

Lucas swallowed hard. He was not sure how to respond to that. He knew some of the things he'd heard were probably true, and Brooke never tried to deny any of them. Still, not that they didn't matter to him, he would be lying if he said that, but the girl he had met, she was different from the girl everybody described and different from the girl she seemed to believe she was.

"Okay," he agreed instead with a nod.

Brooke looked at him curiously. She wondered what that meant, probably that he just felt even more disappointed and repulsed by her. "If you did know," she started.

It was just like she was forcing him to admit something, he thought. He wasn't sure what that was but he didn't like it, so he decided to stop her. "It wouldn't matter," he said firmly.

Brooke chuckled bitterly. "How can you say that?"

"Okay, look," he said taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts. "You're saying you did some pretty bad things, okay, I believe you. And I'm asking you this, when you met me, when you met Haley and Nathan, were you pretending? Are you pretending now?"

Brooke bit her lip and looked down guiltily. Was he seriously asking that when a few nights ago it was exactly what he had accused her of doing?

"No!" Lucas interrupted her thoughts when he realized what she might be thinking. "Forget about Nathan, or Haley. I didn't mean… _that!"_ He fumbled for the right words. "When you met me, when you are with me, are you pretending to be someone that you're not?"

Brooke looked into his blue eyes that were reflecting the dim streetlights. "No…you know I wasn't. I'm not," she whispered hesitantly.

"I do," he nodded, "and now you understand why it wouldn't matter, Brooke? I'm not in that ninety nine percent. I'm not pretending either, you know that right?"

"I do," she replied shakily before starting to walk again.

* * *

After that last conversation, they both could fill the air around them grow even tenser than before if that was even possible.

"Okay, we should have seen the mall by now, right?" Brooke asked after a few minutes. Walking with him was no longer calming. Why did he have to say the things he did? Why did he have to sound so true and sincere? She never got that from anyone else. On some level, she knew everybody pretended around each other. Relationships were built on false pretenses. Even with Peyton, she pretended to be the strong one, always. She pretended to not care about what anyone thought or felt about her, like nothing could touch her, and Peyton, well, Peyton just pretended to believe her. It worked better for both of them. But not Lucas. He had that ability to shake her to the core by just saying the simplest things and making pretending around him almost impossible. And that's why she couldn't afford being around him.

"I think it's just behind that hill," Lucas pointed to the distance ahead of them. He guessed that she would take his earlier comment the wrong way, but he had really meant it. And he wanted her to know that he meant it. So he had taken the risk, and thankfully she hadn't run away. But he assumed she wasn't too keen on spending more time with him either.

"You just think? Aren't you sure?!" Brooke snapped letting the frustration from her own feelings find its escape at Lucas. Plus, okay, he was there and made her feel safe and all, but it was still dark and it was starting to feel a bit cold, and her feet were hurting, and she was sure she could hear some not so friendly dogs hollowing behind them.

Lucas only chuckled. "I'm sure. Don't worry, I didn't get us lost."

"Hm… would you tell me if we were lost?" She asked challengingly.

"Of course, I would. It's not like you're scared, right?" He teased her.

"Right," Brooke mumbled.

"Just a little longer, I promise," he assured her trying to suppress his laughter.

"Okay," Brooke nodded. "Okay," she repeated trying to ignore the dogs' hollowing behind them that seemed to have grown louder.

Lucas chuckled again. "They're just dogs."

"I know that!" Brooke snapped and then furrowing her brows a little she turned to him quietly. "Do you think they're close?"

"You're not afraid of some little dogs, are you? I mean, you are not even afraid of snakes, so…"

"I was just asking," Brooke muttered stubbornly.

"There, you see? That's the mall," Lucas said pointing ahead of them to a concentration of bright lights.

"Thank, God!" Brooke sighed in relief, and Lucas laughed following her as she almost ran to the lights, magically forgetting both her high heels and the dreadful road.

* * *

They were finally reaching the mall, and Brooke was more than happy. But at the same time immensely sad. Their night together was coming to an end, and she didn't know if she should feel relieved or disappointed.

"So… it seems Rachel's going to win after all," Lucas said with mock regret. He on the other hand was sure that he felt nothing but disappointment that their night seemed to be coming to an end so soon, so he decided he might as well try. Brooke was stubborn and hated losing, especially if it was losing to Rachel, so why not?

"No! I mean, don't you think Peyton and the guys might beat them?"

"If I had to bet, I would place my money on Nate and Rachel," he said indifferently.

"Crap!"

"Besides, even if Peyton and the others beat Rachel, she still would have beaten us…" He trailed off thoughtfully watching as Brooke seemed to bite the bait.

Brooke chewed her lip furiously. "But kissing a snake?"

"Hey, I understand, it sounds scary and…" He said in fake sympathy.

"I'm not scared! Just grossed out! I mean… it would be like…eww! Besides, where would we find a snake, anyway? Remember, Felix is still on the Ferris wheel."

"We're at the mall, I'm sure there's bound to be a pet shop with snakes in there…"

"You think?"

"Sure, you must know? I mean you are the one that hangs out there all the time."

"I do not hang out there, all the time!" Brooke objected indignantly. "Besides, even when I do, pet shops aren't exactly the places I look for! Now, if you wanted to know where you could find the best shoes or the best sales on the cutest clothes you've ever seen! Like that other day, Peyton wanted a new top, but she said she was kinda low in money, and I swear I had like a hunch we would find the cutest tops in Juicy's and on the best prices, and Peyton insisted she couldn't afford them, but I knew they were on sale. And of course I was right! And she got two of them, and well, I bought a few for myself," she said all in one breath.

"I see," Lucas chuckled amused. "Well, I'm sure it will be easy enough to find a pet shop, if we were going to go through with the dare, which we aren't."

"Damn it, Luke! I so can't let Rachel win this thing!" Brooke pouted.

"Yeah, but I mean, kissing a snake?" Lucas asked again feigning a disgusted face.

"Well, I've kissed worse…" Brooke said with a slight cringe remembering her past hook ups. Some of them might even make snakes look attractive.

Lucas frowned biting back the questions in his head. What did she mean exactly? She couldn't be referring to him could she? No, he shook the thought out of his head quickly. She must have been talking about her past hook ups. Only that thought made him frown even more. Just how many were those? Shit, he just couldn't think of her kissing anyone but him.

Brooke didn't notice his expression and just kept talking. "Just that I was really really drunk then and… that's it!" She exclaimed the last part giddily.

"Huh? What?" He asked confused only having paid half attention to her monologue.

"You, my friend, are getting me wasted!" Brooke exclaimed in triumph.

* * *

"It really says a lot about us that we carry our fake ids with us all the time…" Lucas trailed off taking a swig of his beer and taking another look at their dreary surroundings. The bartender, a big guy around his forties with a t-shirt Brooke had sworn he must have been wearing for at least a month without washing, had shocked him when he actually asked for their ids. Of course he barely glanced at them before shoving the beers they requested in front of their faces, and then their second ones and so on.

They had resorted to that shady bar, almost adjacent to the mall's parking lot. Now that he took a moment to observe it, because since they got there, he was too busy staring at his stunning companion to notice anything else around him, it looked as bad at the inside as it did at the outside. No wonder he had never noticed its existence before tonight. The upside was that it was almost empty. Either it was still too early for its usual crowd or this was its usual crowd, which would be really pathetic, and he had to wonder how it still worked if that was the case, probably because any of the regulars there drunk like a dozen normal people would. But then again, it was lucky for him that the bar was nearly empty, because he was already having trouble stomaching the way the few washouts who were there were gawking at Brooke. She was after all the only girl present. And what a girl she was…

"Always prepared," Brooke giggled.

"What, you've been to girl scouts or something?"

Brooke just giggled again, and Lucas shook his head. So here he was in a shady almost empty bar he would have never considered stepping into before, getting Brooke drunk and getting drunk in the process himself. What the fuck were they doing? And why the hell had he agreed to it? Didn't he know how this would probably end? Why was he actually anticipating for that end so much though he knew all too well how wrong that was?

Brooke had relaxed after the first beer, after all she had already consumed more than enough alcohol at the party, and Lucas found himself relaxing as well. She started talking non-stop about this and that, and all he did was sit and stare at her. Every now and then she would actually give him the opportunity to say something back, but he didn't really care if she let him get a word out or not. He was just content to be there watching and listening. The way she threw her head back when she laughed, the sound of that laughter that brought a smile to his own face every time, even if he didn't find anything funny in what made her laugh. Her mesmerizing eyes that were sparkling probably because of the alcohol but also the excitement she showed when she talked about the things she liked, such as Brad Pitt's new movie or Britney's new song. Her dimples that he had missed so much since she seemed determined to hide them around him and were now in full display and her raspy voice that filled the air. The hell with wrong and right, he would enjoy this night and whatever came from it.

"What do you think the others are doing now?" Brooke asked as she noticed he had become thoughtful again. Broody. She smiled to herself, even drunk he managed to brood, go figure. Did he ever really let go? She on the other hand… She realized what she had gotten herself into, just after she had proposed going to the bar she had spotted. And she still had to wonder what possessed her to suggest this particular bar. It was yucky and gross… probably fitting with the theme of their dare she mused. And usually she would be complaining non stop about being in a place like that, or more like it she wouldn't be caught dead in a place like that, but somehow that night it didn't really matter. She was sure that when she looked back she would only have nice things to say about the place. Was she losing her mind or what?

Anyhow, at first Lucas had protested a bit, saying that they were already drunk enough, but she had managed to convince him, those darn puppy dog eyes worked every single time, not that he needed that much convincing. As for her, she had stopped questioning herself on why she did the things she did anymore. Truth was she already knew. She knew why she had made Nathan convince Lucas to come to the party and it had nothing to do with Peyton. She knew why she had agreed on not calling anyone to pick them up, or why she had let him convince her to going through with the dares and she knew why she was here in this shame for a bar getting drunk. It was because she wanted to be near him and that desire was so strong she couldn't stop herself, damn the consequences. Although she managed to still be lying to herself assuring herself time after time again that there would be no consequences. Just two friends, having fun, playing a _game_.

"Well, I'm sure they're not at some bar getting wasted," Lucas replied sarcastically.

"If they had to kiss a snake they would," she giggled again and then her eyes fell on the envelope with the third dare which was temptingly laid on the bar just next to her beer. "What do you think the third dare is?" She asked innocently taking the envelope in her hands and flipping it around.

"We are not opening the envelope, Brooke," Lucas replied firmly.

"But why?" She whined widening her eyes in protest as she slumped the envelope back on the bar.

"Because it would be cheating?" Lucas asked bemused with her childlike behavior.

"The rules are that we do the dares in the correct order. We didn't say anything about not reading them before!"

Lucas seemed thoughtful for a second. "Why would they be in separate envelopes if we were meant to read them all at once?"

Brooke huffed. If she hadn't had the last couple of beers she would probably repeat the reason Felix himself had given them, so no one could accuse him of setting everything up, but as the case was, she did had the last couple of beers. "Why are you so determined to play by the rules Rachel and _Felix_ set?"

Lucas scoffed. Why was he? He didn't know for sure, but then shook his head. "Nope, not gonna work!" He smirked.

"Party pooper! You're just insisting because you know I'm dying to read it, and you want to torture me!" Brooke said and of course pouted and turned to face away from him.

Lucas chuckled. "Mhmm… and is it working?"

"No!" Brooke denied, as she turned back to look at Lucas, the pout on her face totally contradicting her statement.

"If we had read the second dare, before doing the first, would you still go through with it?" He asked.

"Of course! Well, probably. I don't really know…" She raised her shoulders feeling confused. Perhaps taking another sip from her beer would help her clear her head.

"See… and then we would miss out on the chance of seeing Felix stuck on the Ferris wheel!" Lucas explained feeling proud of himself that he managed to deliver a reasonable explanation despite the fogginess in his head. The beers he had consumed were bad enough, add the girl who was sitting next to him, and he was beyond intoxicated by then.

"He did look funny! I mean his face was…!" Brooke giggled remembering Felix's both furious and terrified expression as well as his hysterical yelling when he realized what Lucas had done.

"And that's why we're not reading the third dare. Because I have to see _your _face when you're kissing that snake," he responded with a smirk.

"Lucas!" Brooke swatted his arm.

"And just to be on the safe side…" Lucas quickly grabbed the envelope and getting up from his stool shoved it in his back pocket and then almost fell back onto the stool.

Brooke gasped. "I told you I wouldn't read it if you didn't want me to! I can't believe you don't trust me!" She said in mock shock.

Lucas just raised an eyebrow.

"Okay…I wouldn't trust me either," Brooke giggled. "I guess I'm not that…erm…what's the word?"

"Trustworthy?"

"Possibly…" Brooke shrugged and took another sip of her beer. The last one she noticed with disappointment.

"You think you've had enough, yet?" Lucas asked, as he watched her emptying her glass.

"Enough to kiss Felix? Maybe. Enough to kiss a real life snake? Not even close!"

"Yeah, well, it will have to do, because there is always the third dare we need to think about, and I can't have you totally plastered by then."

"It's not like you're doing so much better yourself, mister…Don't think I didn't notice," she said trying to point her finger at him, but it slightly swayed left and then right, ending up pointing at a bald guy behind them.

"All the more reason for us to stop," he said grabbing her hand that was dangerously close to his face now, and bringing it down to rest on the counter letting his own hand rest above it.

Brooke looked startled at his hand on top of hers but made no move to retract it.

"I don't wanna leave yet…" She murmured still looking at their hands.

"I know, me neither," he said softly looking at her intently his eyes looking darker than usual while he draw light circles with his thump on her palm.

Brooke felt her heart beat hard against her chest and realized their faces were slowly inching closer to each other. She abruptly pulled back, pulling her hand away from his as well. Lucas opened his mouth to say something but she caught him too it.

"One last beer?" She asked pleadingly.

Against his better judgment, Lucas nodded reluctantly letting out a resigned sigh. He really did need another beer himself.

* * *

That last beer worked its wonders and they were laughing again in no time, as Brooke told Lucas stories from LA and some of the wild dares she had done there on various games.

"So in the end, we actually won because the other team didn't manage to break in the principle's office, while I had the keys for our coach's office," she grinned in triumph. "You should have seen their faces," she giggled, _again_.

Lucas chuckled loudly. "Crazy girl…you and your dares. Wow, wait a sec! We really need to get out of here. We have our own dares to complete!"

"Lukeee…" Brooke whined still not willing to leave and a little pissed he seemed so eager to go. Despite some awkward moments, they were finally having fun or at least she was.

"Oh, no, you don't! C'mon, get up! We're wasting time, and Rachel is winning!" It was not that he actually wanted them to go, or that he cared if Rachel actually did win. But her giggling was getting way out of hand and with him finding the stale tasting beer better and better after each swig he took, he knew it was about time they got out of there.

The name _Rachel_ seemed to do the trick, disillusioning Brooke from her forgetful phase. "Fuck! I forgot all about that bitch!" She said almost jumping from her stool, and if Lucas wasn't quick enough to steady her, she would have probably landed on the sticky floor.

"Easy there!" He exclaimed. "God, did you really have this much to drink?"

She was of course just giggling again and pushing his hands away she made her way stumbling to the door.

"Oh boy," Lucas muttered shaking his head as he followed after her, almost tripping over two tables himself. It wasn't his fault that they put them right in his way!

--


End file.
